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Good day to you all.
I welcome Prime Minister Spajić on his first official visit to Budapest. Given his age, we hope that many more such visits will follow. We have been involved in very stimulating discussions. In addition to bilateral issues, we also discussed European and world affairs. We are in an exciting period in international politics. There is what we could call the Eastern World’s summit in Kazan, involving thirty-one countries; and on 7 November there will be a Western World summit in Budapest. The Westerners will be coming together, represented by the top leaders of forty or so countries. So a host of rich themes arise from this, which we have taken stock of. First of all, we have established that whatever happens in world politics, our two countries can count on each other. Each of our countries has a positive view of the other, and there is no political or economic conflict between us. Furthermore, Hungarians have good memories of Montenegro from Yugoslav times. This is why people in Hungary are favourably disposed towards the Prime Minister’s country, and this is a good starting point for strengthening cooperation.
Of course the most important international issue is the situation of the EU and its enlargement. It is now possible to talk openly about the problems of the EU; this is something that was not allowed earlier, but since former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi published his report on the EU’s competitiveness it has become permissible to discuss this previously taboo subject. Incidentally, President Draghi will be here in Budapest on 7 November, and we will be listening to him. The situation is simple: the EU’s competitiveness is deteriorating and our global economic weight is declining. Everyone is wondering what can be done about this, and what the remedy might be. The Hungarian answer – and this is where we align with Montenegro – is that we need freshness and new impetus. New resources need to be brought into the European economic bloodstream, and the most obvious way of doing this is through enlargement embracing the countries of the Western Balkans. Of all the Western Balkan countries, Montenegro is perhaps the best prepared. There are many reasons for this, but the facts are clear. By now several chapters in the negotiations should have been closed, but the EU has neglected enlargement involving the Western Balkan countries, with the process slowing down – and indeed coming to a halt. These countries have been waiting fifteen years to join. If I have not miscalculated, Montenegro applied for EU membership sixteen years ago, – and everyone knows that they have done a fantastic job in adapting to the European legal system. Despite this, not a single chapter has been closed in the past seven years. The Hungarian Presidency has pledged to change this lamentable state of affairs, to break the ice, and to help the Western Balkans move forward towards Europe. With the Prime Minister we have agreed that four negotiating chapters will be closed in December. This is a huge step forward, and there are chapters that we have brought very close to the point at which they can be closed in the near future. So I must say that Montenegro has done fantastic work, and is making very good progress on the European path.
In addition to European issues, we also discussed questions related to bilateral cooperation. From the figures, I see that our bilateral trade is breaking records almost every year. So the trend is excellent, and at today’s meeting this was welcomed not only by the Hungarians but also by Montenegro, whose representatives explicitly encouraged us to enable Hungarian companies to make major investments in their country. And I have asked the Prime Minister to clearly identify the areas where Montenegrin interests would be served by the activity of Hungarian investors, requesting him to clearly identify the areas where Montenegrin interests require Hungarian investors. This is because, of course, at the end of the day Montenegro belongs to the Montenegrins: they will decide what should happen in their country, and we are happy to adapt to their decisions. We already have a big presence there: our trade in electricity supply is very strong; OTP is in a very strong position; Podgorica is connected to several European cities by Wizz Air; and 4iG is already the number two player in the Montenegrin telecoms market. We have agreed with the Prime Minister that this is the right path, we will continue along it, we have identified new areas of economic cooperation, and we have entrusted our ministers with the task of working out the details necessary to take Montenegrin–Hungarian economic cooperation up to a new level.
Prime Minister,
Once again, we are grateful to you for honouring the Hungarian people with your first official visit.
