Hungary’s national interest will always be a priority, and the government will advance its interests within its system of alliance, Foreign Minister Anita Orbán said in an interview ahead of the European Union foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, adding: “Hungary will once again behave like a European country.”

She said that at the April general election, Hungarians had clearly expressed their intention “that Hungary’s place is in Europe”. “A new Hungary has been born, a country that is returning to the task of building a shared European future with renewed commitment,” she said.

Regarding talks with Ukraine, she said that “weeks of intense negotiations” had led to an agreement with Kyiv. The new bilateral agreement outlines ethnic Hungarians’ rights on education, public administration, the use of symbols and culture, she added. In “one of the significant achievements last week”, the agreement was also included in the Ukraine-European Union Action Plan on Minorities as a reference point, Orbán said.

Ukraine’s first accession cluster will be launched on Monday, covering fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law with the bilateral agreement integrated into this process, she added.

Anita Orbán
FM Orbán holding a press conference in Luxembourg. Photo: Facebook/Orbán Anita

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The agreement also includes an interim benchmark, under which the accession process in the first cluster will automatically be suspended should Ukraine fail to fulfill the terms of the agreement.

“Hungarian diplomacy has achieved in recent weeks that the agreement now applies not only within a bilateral framework but also as part of the European integration process, meaning that compliance with it will be enforced within both bilateral and European frameworks,” she said.

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“For Hungary, the fulfillment and implementation of this agreement is a fundamental condition for Ukraine’s European integration process,” she emphasised.

The foreign minister stressed that Hungary does not support any other solution, but rather supports accession based on performance and reform.

Meanwhile, Montenegro remains a frontrunner in the enlargement process, and Hungary supports the European Union accession aspirations of the Western Balkans. She said that Montenegro’s progress demonstrates that commitment and reforms bear fruit, and expressed hope that this would serve as an incentive for the entire region. Hungary supports Moldova’s accession process, Orban added.

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