"It is in Hungary's interest to be not only a bridge but also a link between East and West."Continue reading
The Hungarian Foreign Minister visited Berlin on Tuesday to take part in a panel discussion as part of a strategic conference on the role of small countries, to meet with leading representatives of major German automotive companies, and to attend a meeting of foreign ministers.
The Minister said at the panel discussion of the Berlin Global Dialogue that Hungary was among the losers of the previous world order based on the division of the world into blocs, and that Hungary is therefore extremely concerned about the global developments of recent years. He emphasized that the Hungarian government would instead be interested in connectivity, and in this context complained that some major powers are not even willing to negotiate with each other today. He referred to the inability of the US and Russia to negotiate and the possibility of a trade war between the US and China as a risk.
With its sincere policy, Hungary can contribute to restarting communication between the major powers and thus create a period of connectivity instead of a period of blocs,”
he stressed.
Péter Szijjártó described Hungary’s strategy of becoming an important meeting point for companies from East and West as very successful. “What we have achieved in Hungary is a Berlin-Beijing-Seoul trade and economic cooperation zone with a Hungarian center,” he emphasized.
It was therefore incomprehensible that his German counterpart was thinking of separating the economies of the EU and China, so-called “de-risking,” while German companies were highly dependent on their eastern suppliers, and therefore regularly encouraged Hungary to promote their investments, he said.
During the day, the Foreign Minister also held talks with the German Association of the Automotive Industry, members of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and automotive industry lobby groups. Western companies, including German companies, are protesting against the imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric car companies, as this would also cause them serious damage, Szijjártó explained.
If there is no competition, there is no competitiveness,”
underlined the minister. “If we want to improve the dramatically deteriorating competitiveness of the European Union, we must not see China as a rival. The biggest mistake is not to build cooperation between China and Europe, but to create a kind of confrontation between Europe and China,” he noted.
Szijjártó also took part in the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Berlin Process, aiming to accelerate the European integration of the Western Balkan states, and reiterated that
Hungary continues to advocate an early enlargement of the European Union.
He emphasized that the credibility of the EU’s enlargement policy is at stake if no progress is made in this process.
“Over the next three months, the European Union will hold intergovernmental conferences with the five candidate countries of the Western Balkans under the Hungarian Presidency, at least this is our firm goal,” he announced. The first intergovernmental conference with Albania is scheduled for mid-October, followed by similar events with Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia, Mr. Szijjártó added.
Hungary continues to believe that the European Union needs a new impetus, a new dynamic and freshness, and that this will come primarily from the Western Balkans, the minister concluded.
Via MTI; Featured image via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter