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At a press conference held together with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the Hungarian Prime Minister said due to developments in recent years, Hungary is being supplied with energy increasingly via Serbia.
“The Russo-Ukrainian war sealed the other direction, and so Serbia has become a country offering a first-rate security opportunity and guarantee to Hungary. From the viewpoint of Hungary, from the viewpoint of Hungarian security, today there is no more important country than Serbia,” he stated.
He said at the meeting they reviewed their projects and decided on further ones, also in the fields of oil transport, gas conveyance, the construction of power lines, natural gas trade and natural gas storage. He indicated that from the end of this year, there will be a joint power exchange for the two countries.
They also confirmed that by 2026 the Budapest-Belgrade railway line would be completed, and agreed to turn the Röszke-Horgos motorway border crossing station into Europe’s most modern, swiftest and most sophisticated border crossing point with an enormous project which the two countries would implement together, he announced.
Mr Orbán highlighted that Hungary stood for peace, and this shared position, too, strengthened Serbian-Hungarian friendship. He indicated that Hungary had taken on major conflicts in order to avoid “being pushed into the Russo-Ukrainian war.” “We have stayed out of this, this is not our war, we’re on the side of peace, and will stay there,” he added.
The Hungarian Prime Minister also said they established that during the rotating Hungarian EU presidency, Hungary had provided meaningful assistance for Serbia with a view to accelerating its European integration. He stressed that Europe must understand that it is not Serbia that needs the European Union, but it is the EU that needs Serbia.
He said Europe has problems with its growth dynamic, and it can only hope to obtain a new impetus, a new dynamic, new energy from new members. In his view, Serbia is the best candidate for that, and so Hungary will make every effort also in the future to enable Serbia to become a member of the EU within the shortest possible time.
Mr Orbán took the view that a new reality came into being with the US presidential election and the emergence in Europe of the sovereigntist parliamentary group and political formation of the patriots.
The future lies with sovereign, independent, proud nations that are hungry for success, in Europe everyone will have to adjust their own fate and policies to this, the Prime Minister added, taking the view that Serbs and Hungarians are now responding to this new reality by intensifying bilateral cooperation.
As part of this new reality, security is becoming an ever more precious asset, and so Hungary and Serbia must cooperate better also in the field of security; if Europe is suffering from high energy prices, there is a need for better cooperation also in the field of energy; and if we have reason to be concerned that Europe favours the development of blocs and responds to the new situation with protectionism, then “we must strengthen connectivity all the more,” “we must connect with each other” all the more, he argued.
Mr Orbán expressed his gratitude to the Serbian President, stressing that Aleksandar Vucic has been the “engine” of high-level Serbian-Hungarian relations in the past decade, and has made every effort to enable relations between the two countries “to take a favourable shape like never before experienced in history.”
He also stressed that Hungarians and Serbs were two ambitious nations which were not willing to resign themselves to the fate that had been handed down to them by the 20th century, and would like to become successful, great and rich countries.
He added that a successful Serbia also adds to the value of Hungary, and so “we have a vested interest” in the Serbs becoming successful, satisfied, balanced and ever richer in the next seven years, the same as the Hungarians.
The Hungarian-Serbian Strategic Cooperation Council met for the second time now. After the meeting, representatives of the two states signed seven agreements, including regarding legal assistance with civil matters, cultural cooperation, a memorandum of understanding between the innovation ministries of the two countries, the renewal of the EU integration expert plan provided by Hungary and political cooperation between the ministries of foreign affairs. Mr Orbán and Mr Vucic signed a joint political declaration regarding the meeting of the strategic cooperation council.
