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The Hungarian Prime Minister recalled that Mr Spajic had come to Hungary on an official visit for the first time; at the meeting, the parties also reviewed European and world political topics, in addition to bilateral issues.
The summit of the eastern world is currently taking place in Kazan with the participation of representatives of 31 countries, following which on 7 November Budapest will host a western summit to be attended by the leaders of more than forty countries, he stated.
The Hungarian Prime Minister mentioned the enlargement of the European Union among the current most important international issues.
It is now possible to talk about the ailments of the EU openly; since former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi published his report, this topic – once taboo – has become fit for discussion, he observed.
He said the EU’s competitiveness is declining, and its weight in the world economy is decreasing. The Hungarian answer to this challenge is that we need a degree of freshness and a new impetus; we must involve new resources in the European economy, and the admission of the countries of the Western Balkans appears to be the most evident solution.
He highlighted that in the whole region, Montenegro was perhaps the most prepared for this. He added that these countries had achieved fantastic results in the adaptation of the European legal system, despite the fact that in the past seven years not a single chapter had been closed.
In continuation he said the EU has abandoned the process of enlargement with the countries of the Western Balkans, and so this process slowed down and then came to a halt. He added that the Hungarian EU presidency had undertaken to change this “unfortunate state of affairs.” In December, four negotiating chapters will be closed which is an enormous step forward, and there are chapters which are close to reaching closure in the near future, he stated.
Praising bilateral cooperation, he pointed out that Hungarian-Montenegrin trade breaks new records almost every year; Hungarian businesses already have a significant presence in the Montenegrin economy. Our electricity trade as well as the positions of OTP are robust, the airline Wizz Air connects Podgorica with a number of European cities, and 4iG is already the number two actor of the Montenegrin telecommunications market, he listed.
At the Thursday meeting, this development was also welcomed by the Montenegrin party who positively encouraged Hungarian companies to appear in Montenegro with major investments, said Mr Orbán. At the same time, the Prime Minister asked the Montenegrins to identify the areas where this is desirable for them.
We agreed that this was the right path, we will carry on on this path, and we designated further areas of economic cooperation, Mr Orbán said, rendering an account of the meeting.
