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Mr Orbán said he and Mr Frieden, who came to Budapest on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, reviewed the situation of the EU, agreeing with the diagnosis of the Draghi Report which concludes that European competitiveness is severely declining, The situation calls for some urgency, he stressed, highlighting that both Hungary and Luxembourg have a vested interest in the strengthening of competitiveness. Mr Orbán presented the draft of the competitiveness pact developed by the Hungarian EU presidency which he would like to discuss with all EU Member States and seeks to have adopted in November.
The two prime ministers agreed on the need for the enlargement of the EU in the region of the Western Balkans, he said. By Mr Orbán’s account, in the context of migration and competitiveness, Africa was also among the topics discussed, and his Luxembourgish counterpart shared his view regarding the need for the development of a common EU Africa Plan. The plan of the Hungarian presidency is that Europe should urgently prepare an overarching Africa Plan because in a case to the contrary, only problems will come from Africa, despite the fact that Africa could also be a source of economic advantages, he observed. What Hungary did was that it selected a few African countries for which it is able to provide meaningful assistance through intensive cooperation on a bilateral basis, rather than waiting for the EU, he pointed out. Mr Orbán added that Mr Frieden himself agreed that in addition to such individual attempts, there was a need for an overarching Africa Plan.
Mr Frieden said Hungary does not only maintain longstanding diplomatic relations with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, but currently also holds the EU’s rotating presidency, and another reason for his visit to Budapest was the need to continue the dialogue. He confirmed that he agreed with the position of the Hungarian presidency: Europe’s competitiveness must be placed at the top of the agenda. The single market must be strengthened, both private and state funds must be used to enhance the digitisation of European economies, we must create a European defence industry and we must protect agricultural producers whilst avoiding overregulation, he said, outlining his plans.
He pointed out that they supported the Hungarian presidency on economic issues. He spoke about migration as a complex problem to which – in his view – there are no simple solutions equally applicable to all countries. He added that Luxembourg supports the asylum and migration pact, but believes that further measures are necessary in the interest of harmonious coexistence in societies.
The Luxembourgish prime minister said Hungary’s regional experience regarding the war in Ukraine is important, while in the context of the enlargement of the EU, he stressed that the Western Balkans must be offered a European prospect, but a merit-based approach is also important. Praising the Schengen system he highlighted that cooperation among the policing agencies of Member States must be strengthened, while the protection of the external borders must be organised in a way which allows for a happy existence within the EU. Constructive efforts must be made to this end both in Europe and in cooperation with the rest of the world, including Africa, Mr Frieden said.
