Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in her office on Wednesday.
Meloni congratulated PM Orbán on Hungary's successful EU presidency, especially with regard to the Budapest declaration on competitiveness and opening accession negotiations with Albania. During Hungary's tenure, there had been a "breakthrough" in Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the Schengen Area too, she said.
Meloni and PM Orbán reiterated their commitment to further deepening their countries' bilateral partnership and said that trade reached 14 billion euros in 2023. There is room for further improvement, too, especially in the infrastructure and energy sectors, they said.
The prime ministers pledged to boost the intensity of political dialogue and to coordinate on the most important international issues. They discussed the situation in the Middle East and a "fair and sustainable peace in Ukraine, based on the UN Charter and the principles of international law."
They also talked about their commitment to reconstruction in Ukraine, in preparation for a conference on the topic slated to be held in July 2025 in Italy.
Italian-Hungarian cooperation is thriving in defence and security within the framework of NATO, especially regarding the 260 Italian troops in the multinational battalion under Hungarian command, they said. The two countries continue to support NATO and EU initiatives aiming to stabilise the Western Balkans, and support the EU integration of the region, the prime ministers said.
PM Orbán and Meloni also discussed illegal migration, and called for increased cooperation with countries of origin and transit to handle the causes of migration as well as to fight people smuggling and trading in human persons, Havasi said. The EU legislative framework must be urgently updated to make repatriation easier and faster, "especially by clarifying and strengthening the concept of a safe country of origin," they said.
They also said new methods must be found to prevent and fight illegal migration in line with EU and international law, "along the lines of the agreement between Italy and Albania".
In a joint statement after the meeting, PM Orbán and Meloni emphasised the importance of taking a stand against illegal migration, pledged to continue strengthening economic cooperation and praised defence cooperation within NATO.