The foreign minister said the current crisis offers an opportunity to speed up the EU integration of the Western Balkans, national security and economic interest of Hungary and the EU.
According to MTI, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said after talks with Tanja Miščević, Serbia’s newly appointed minister for European integration, that Europe was facing “grave security, economic and energy supply crises” because of the sanctions imposed on Russia in response to the war in Ukraine. While the solution would be a speedy end to the conflict, EU enlargement could improve the bloc’s situation even among these difficult circumstances, he said. The integration of Serbia would be key in that process, he said and called for opening the remaining 13 chapters in the country’s accession procedure. He said the integration progressed “unacceptably slowly” and slammed the “countries intentionally slowing it. Serbia could greatly contribute to the bloc’s security, he said. Migration pressure is growing in the region, and cooperation with Belgrade is a key element to border protection, he said. “Hungary will, of course, protect its borders, even if it receives no help from Brussels. We will protect our borders, keep aggressive migrants out, and will also help Serbia in pushing the defence lines further south,” he said.