Several EU countries announced that only civil servants will be sent to informal meetings during the Hungarian EU Presidency.Continue reading
With Geert Wilders’ party’s participation in the coalition government, the Hungarian-Dutch political relationship has entered a new dimension, returning to the ground of mutual respect, from which Hungary can benefit a lot in the future, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in The Hague on Tuesday.
Minister Szijjártó held talks with Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), as well as with the economic and foreign ministers in the Netherlands. The Hungarian politician pointed out that political relations between the two countries had previously been “characterized by turbulence,” but
since the formation of the new coalition government, relations have returned to the ground of mutual respect, at least in the vast majority of cases, and it is now possible to focus on the substantive issues of cooperation.
“Thanks to the Party for Freedom’s role in the government, we are also united on migration issues, as we see the solution in the protection of external borders. Unfortunately, Brussels is now pursuing a pro-immigration policy, but we Hungarians and the Netherlands would like to focus on the protection of external borders,” he said. He added that this was also the key to the survival of the Schengen area.
The minister then stressed that free trade is clearly in the interests of both the Netherlands and Hungary, as both countries are major exporters in Europe and globally. Therefore, he noted, the Hungarian government will continue to place great emphasis on promoting free trade negotiations in the EU during its presidency this year.
He also referred to the importance of nuclear energy, recalling that both countries are part of the coalition of European countries using nuclear energy, and therefore do not accept any negative discrimination against it. “Nuclear energy should be clearly considered as renewable energy. Both the Netherlands and Hungary are making or plan to make significant investments in the nuclear sector, and we will work closely together in this area in the future,” he said.
“The Party for Freedom’s involvement in the government has thus brought a new dimension to Hungarian-Dutch relations, and Hungary can benefit a lot from this in the future as well,” Szijjártó concluded.
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter