Hungarian stretch of Via Carpatia motorway to be completed by year-end
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The Hungarian stretch of the Via Carpatia, a transport corridor connecting the Baltic and Aegean Seas, will be completed before the end of the year, President János Áder said after meeting his Polish counterpart in Budapest on Thursday.
The Hungarian section will cover 230km of the 3,300km motorway, Áder told a press conference he held jointly with Andrzej Duda. Áder said central Europe in the past had been at an infrastructural disadvantage compared with the rest of the continent, noting the region’s underdeveloped railway, energy and digital networks prior to 1990 and in the early 90s.
On another subject, Áder said Poland was Hungary’s fourth most important trading partner, adding that the annual bilateral trade volume was worth ten billion euros. Fully 100 Polish companies operate in Hungary, employing some 13,000 people, the president added. Áder also touched on the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border, noting that the surge in migrants crossing the border illegally has led to Poland having to declare a state of emergency in its border regions. Áder said the recent developments in Afghanistan were likely to result in even greater migration pressure on Poland, noting Warsaw’s decision
On another subject, Áder said Poland was Hungary’s fourth most important trading partner, adding that the annual bilateral trade volume was worth ten billion euros. Fully 100 Polish companies operate in Hungary, employing some 13,000 people, the president added. Áder also touched on the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border, noting that the surge in migrants crossing the border illegally has led to Poland having to declare a state of emergency in its border regions. Áder said the recent developments in Afghanistan were likely to result in even greater migration pressure on Poland, noting Warsaw’s decision
to build a fence along a 370km stretch of its border.
The president said Hungary had offered to share with Poland its experiences in the construction and operation of its own border fence.
Meanwhile, Áder noted that Duda will pay another visit to Budapest in November for the Visegrad Group presidential summit. The V4 heads of state will then meet in the Hungarian capital again at the Planet Budapest 2021 sustainability expo, he added. In response to a question, Áder said he will present his Polish counterpart with the Hungarian Order of Merit, Grand Cross with the chain and golden radiant star, later on Thursday for his efforts to strengthen the friendship between their two countries, advance V4 cooperation and his commitment to launching the Three Seas Initiative.