Justice minister: Hungary backs Georgia’s EU integration

Hungary supports Georgia’s EU accession and will promote that it receive candidate country status, Justice Minister Bence Tuzson said after a meeting with his Georgian counterpart, Rati Bregadze, in Budapest on Wednesday.

“Hungary has a vested interest in the meeting of East and West,” Tuzson told a joint press conference with Bregadze, adding that Hungary was working to become such a meeting point.

Forging closer ties with partners is the guarantee of progress, “for which Hungary is an excellent place”, he added.

Hungary has gained a lot of experience in the integration process in the recent period, which it shared with the Georgian minister at Wednesday’s meeting, Tuzson said.

He said they had also discussed the two countries’ legal competitiveness and possibilities for advancing legal cooperation, adding that investments and partnerships between their businesses made it important for Hungary and Georgia to get to know each other’s legal systems.

The minister noted that the two governments had held a joint meeting in Georgia in October and signed a declaration of intent and a work plan on bilateral cooperation.

He said the two countries also wanted to hold joint legal forums, the first of which will be held in Georgia next April. He added that he trusted the cooperation would contribute to strengthening both countries as well as their friendship.

Meanwhile, Tuzson said Hungary and Georgia shared similar views on key issues, valued family and bolstering family benefits. Both countries’ governments are based in Christianity and promote Christian values, he added.

Bregadze thanked Hungary for its support on Georgia’s bid to become an EU member state, and that it “stands up for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

The Euro-Atlantic integration is extremely important for Georgia, and it is what the Georgian people themselves have voted for, he said.

The first Hungarian-Georgian legal forum will be held on April 20-24 next year with discussions to be held on important legal matters, the minister said.

Source: MTI