On Thursday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán discussed Moldova's European integration with his Moldovan counterpart Natalia Gavrilita.Continue reading
Hungary supports the EU candidate status of Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina alongside Ukraine and Moldova, Justice Minister Judit Varga said; while Fidesz MEP Kinga Gál also said that Hungary supports the candidate status of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, but the European integration of the Western Balkan countries should also be accelerated.
As we have reported before, Olivér Várhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, had said that Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, among other countries, have reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by applying for EU membership. He also said that enlargement policy is a very important dimension of the European Union for Hungary, as instability is possible at Hungary’s external borders in regions where peace, security, and prosperity remain a challenge. Moreover, Bertalan Havasi, Deputy State Secretary in charge of the Prime Minister’s Press Office, told MTI earlier that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán discussed the war in Ukraine and also Moldova’s European integration with Natalia Gavrilita and Havasi himself. Orbán welcomed the Moldovan government’s plan to grant the country candidate status for EU membership.
Now, speaking to international journalists ahead of a two-day summit of EU leaders starting on Thursday, Judit Varga stressed that Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be left out of the Western Balkans group of countries waiting to join the EU. In the case of Georgia, she said, it should not be overlooked that Ukraine and Moldova are geopolitical choices that override the previous enlargement logic, as there is an imminent security threat in the EU’s neighborhood.
Kinga Gál said that Fidesz MEPs are of the opinion that the enlargement policy needs to be given a new impetus, as the geopolitical, security, and economic interests of European unity also demand it.
She said that Hungary is pushing for new accession chapters to be opened with Serbia and Montenegro, for accession negotiations to be opened with Northern Macedonia and Albania, and for Kosovo to be granted visa-free travel.
“Of course, all countries have to meet the accession criteria, including the Copenhagen criteria to ensure the protection of traditional national minorities,” the MEP pointed out.
Source: MTI
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