Hungary keen to firm bond with Ireland

Speaker of Parliament László Kövér, paying an official visit to Ireland, said it was in Hungary’s interest to strengthen bilateral ties with Ireland.

Talks focused on ties between the countries, parliamentary cooperation, the future of the European Union and Brexit, the parliamentary press office said in a statement on Friday.

Kövér was received by President Michael D. Higgins and he met Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

In talks with Sean O’Fearghail, head of the lower house of parliament, Kövér said that the aim of the visit was to strengthen parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

Strong parliamentary cooperation both at the national and European levels is needed to tackle challenges facing the EU, Hungary and Ireland, he said.

The speakers agreed that both countries’ places are in the EU. The bloc, however, should remain a strong alliance of sovereign countries instead of becoming a federation, they said.

While receiving the Hungarian delegation, President Higgins said that the EU’s future “should not be the subject of an exclusive German-French discourse; everyone should have their say.” Kövér said that geographically distant countries should work together according to their shared interests. Instead of “more Europe” there should be a “better Europe”, he said.

Kövér also met Senator Denis O’Donovan, head of the upper house of parliament, Charles Flanagan, the justice minister, Michael Healy-Rae, head of European affairs committee, as well as members of the Irish-Hungarian Friendship Association.

Featured image: MTI

Source: MTI