László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received Salva Papuasvili, Speaker of the Georgia’s Parliament, in Budapest.

Orbán: Hungary backs Georgia in dispute with Brussels

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received Salva Papuasvili, the Georgian parliament’s speaker, in Budapest on Monday, and they discussed political cooperation as well as economic and energy ties.

Orbán called for a stop to “the attacks by Brussels and the Soros network against the pro-peace Georgian government”. The prime minister also said the EU financing of opponents of the Tbilisi government must be halted.

Georgia, he added, was ready for EU membership and should be allowed to join as soon as possible.

The officials agreed that Hungary-Georgia ties “are based on shared values”, including their “common cultural and Christian heritage and a commitment to peace”.

Economic cooperation should better reflect the level of political relations, the prime minister said, adding that bilateral investment and business relations and trade should be expanded in the future, the statement said.

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Speaker: Hungary continues to support Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity

Hungary will continue to support Georgia in maintaining its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Speaker of Parliament László Kövér said after signing a cooperation and partnership agreement with Georgian counterpart Shalva Papuashvili in Budapest on Monday.

“With this agreement, cooperation between the parliaments of Hungary and Georgia has been elevated to the same strategic level at which bilateral governmental ties have been maintained since 2022. It also symbolises the friendship built between Hungary and Georgia based on common interests and traditions,” Kover said.

The speaker said he was convinced that cooperation would help to advance Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

Hungary’s legislature will help Georgia in its endeavours by sharing its own recent experiences, he said. EU countries and institutions must respect Georgia’s sovereignty in this process, he said, adding that Hungary would work to ensure that they do so.

Any interference in Georgia’s domestic affairs “is unacceptable”, Kover said, adding that Hungary, even as an EU member state, had been forced to endure similar EU forays into his affairs as Georgia had suffered.

The EU, he added, was likely to change its stance in light of the outcome of the US presidential election.

Fulfilling the criteria for EU membership was a matter of objective facts rather than ideological prejudices, the speaker said. Given Georgia’s economic development and growth, it would be the best-prepared candidate by the end of the decade, he said, adding that Hungary would use all means at its disposal to ensure that Georgia “becomes a full EU member sooner rather than later”.

Papuasvili thanked Hungary for its “friendly support and help”, and called it “a great honour” to visit Hungary.

Today’s discussions embraced specific security and political issues, he said, thanking Hungary for its support for Georgia’s sovereignty.

Centuries-old bilateral relations “are based on European values”, he said, also noting the Hungarian prime minister’s visit to Georgia just after the 2024 general election.