FM: Hungary could improve energy relations with Croatia
The foreign minister said energy cooperation is the “weakest link” in bilateral ties with Croatia.
The foreign minister said energy cooperation is the “weakest link” in bilateral ties with Croatia.
The foreign minister said Hungary's efforts to rebuild schools in Croatia are “proof of the friendship between Hungary and Croatia and their people”.
The two politicians discussed bilateral relations and topical international affairs at a working dinner.
President Novák said Hungary welcomed Croatia’s accession to the Schengen zone and its recent introduction of the euro, and highlighted the importance of bilateral trade ties and tourism.
Zoran Milanović, whose visit comes at the invitation of President Katalin Novák, will be received by his Hungarian counterpart with military honors at Budapest’s Kossuth Square.
A Tagesspiegel editor got several facts terribly wrong in his article, so I submitted a right of reply the same day. A week has passed since and Tagesspiegel still wouldn't publish my response. Read it below:
The defense minister called the Headquarters Multinational Division-Centre (HQ MND-C) the two countries had set up in Székesfehérvár, in western Hungary, in 2020, a key element in that cooperation.
The deal is part of an agreement to expand long-term energy security cooperation between the countries.
“Energy supplies are a matter of national security and it is the government’s duty to guarantee security for the citizens,” the foreign minister said.
The foreign minister said trade thrived even during the coronavirus pandemic, with trade volume reaching a record 2.6 billion euros in the first ten months of 2021.
Hungary’s M6 highway will reach the Croatian border by 2024, and meet a Croatian highway, which will have also been completed by that time, at Ivándárda.
“Both countries are firmly rooted in the original European values, which we could also call Christian values," the foreign minister said.
“We pray for the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” the prime minister said.