Orbán: Hungary, Serbia can rely on each other
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Hungary and Serbia can rely on each other, Hungary will give all the support to Serbia’s European Union accession and when Hungary faces difficulties, it can count on Serbia, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday after talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade.
Orbán told a joint press conference that historic experience was important and when it comes to Serbia’s EU accession, he took an approach based on the position of historic experience. At the time of Hungary’s EU integration, Poland had a key role in the region, he said.
Serbia is a key country for the stability of the Western Balkans, Orbán said. By supporting Serbia’s EU accession, Hungary supports the integration of the entire Western Balkans, he added.
Orbán said the pandemic had overshadowed the issue of mass migration but the old problem has re-emerged. The stability of the Western Balkans and its ability to protect against migration are essential also for Hungary’s security, he added.
Hungarian-Serbian cooperation has resulted in several serious successes, such as railway cooperation, 16 large investment projects at the time of the pandemic and setting up a gas interconnector, he said.
Concerning gas supplies, he said Hungary made every effort to set correct prices when Serbia was in a difficult position. Central European countries must understand that their shared long-term history should be given priority as against short-term interests, he said. “The winds of history may change at any time and any country may find itself in the position that it has to rely on its neighbour,” he added. The region cannot be stabilised unless the countries understand this, he added.
Orbán said figures of the past seven or eight years revealed a “great success story developing” in Serbia, with decreasing public debt, and new investments and development.
He said Hungarian-Serbian cooperation was based on sharing the same goals, to ensure that children live a better life than their parents did and both countries thinking along the lines of family and nation.