Following talks with two Serbian ministers, Justice Minister Judit Varga said that a strong Europe is needed instead of “a declining Europe going backwards”, insisting that Serbia should be integrated into the European Union without delay.
Minister Varga held talks on the sidelines of the Hungarian-Serbian government meeting in Budapest with Maja Popović, her Serbian counterpart, and Jadranka Joksimović, Serbia’s European Integration Minister.
At the talks, “we agreed that, in addition to judicial cooperation, it is more important than ever to talk about the future of Europe,” Minister Varga said on Facebook. The minister said that in response to today’s challenges, Hungary will remain at the forefront of the dialogue about the future of Europe which is a great opportunity to protect the community from “sneaking” modifications of the treaties, “and to preserve the original principles and achievements of integration”. “There has never been such a need for a strong representation of common sense, we need to redirect integration back to its fundamental goal, to have a strong Europe of strong nations,” Minister Varga said.
The minister said that Europe’s future success will only be possible with the integration of countries in the Western Balkans. “The key to this process is Serbia, the most populous state with the most dynamic economy in the region,” Minister Varga said. “We hope that with Serbia we can emphasise together the need for a competitive and competent Europe based on cooperation between strong and independent nation-states and on the respect of fundamental national interests and constitutional traditions,” the justice minister said, calling for speeding up Serbia’s integration process.