Hungarian-Polish Friendship Day – Hungary’s president visits Poland

Piotrków Trybunalski, 2017. március 24. Gazeta Polska aktivistái Piotrków Trybunalskiban, a királyi várnál, ahol Andrzej Duda lengyel államfõ fogadja Áder János köztársasági elnököt 2017. március 24-én. A magyar államfõ a lengyel-magyar barátság napja alkalmából tartott kétnapos rendezvényre érkezett Lengyelországba. MTI Fotó: Kovács Tamás

Piotrkow Trybunalski, Poland (MTI) – Hungary and Poland share the position that the European Union must remain a community of nation states, the Hungarian president said in Piotrkow Trybunalski, in central Poland, on Friday.

János Áder visited the town to celebrate Hungarian-Polish Friendship Day with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Áder said they opposed the idea of “transforming Europe to follow the model of the United States”.

“The two countries would like to see the powers and sovereignty of nation states remain intact while they fully support the EU’s objectives,” he said.

Photo: MTI

Áder said neither country had in mind to tackle its demographic problems by promoting migration. Instead, they give priority to supporting families and extending benefits to them.

“This is something else than the policies championed by some western European countries,” he said.

Áder praised economic ties between the countries, and cited the development of road and energy infrastructure as a common goal.

The “strategic cooperation” between Poland and Hungary has a beneficial effect on the V4 Group, Áder said. “The alliance can pursue its common goals more effectively within the EU”, he said.

Photo: MTI

In the coming weeks and months, Poland and Hungary are going to be in a very good position to push through the values and ideals they both believe in, even in the face of controversy, he said.

Addressing a subsequent gala evening, Áder said that the two countries are connected by common goals and interests and that their common historical fate is manifest in their present endeavours, too.

The two countries’ friendship “has survived glorious kingdoms and murderous dictators, storms and disputes, victories and defeats”, the president said.