FM Szijjártó: promising new era started in the Hungarian-Czech relations

The Hungarian and Czech governments share identical positions on critical issues, rejecting war, migration, and gender ideology, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a joint press conference with Czech counterpart Petr Macinka in Prague on Monday.

Hungarian, Czech government together against migration, war

Szijjártó welcomed the Czech patriots’ election victory, noting that both governments belong to the same political family. “It will be a new experience to have two representatives of this patriot alliance at EU negotiations,” he said.

He credited their past cooperation, particularly under former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, with blocking Brussels’ mandatory migrant quotas, which helped keep Hungary migration-free. “Brussels still pressures us to accept migrants, but together, we will continue to refuse,” he said. For example, in December, Babis and Orbán rejected the EU’s migration pact together.

The minister also highlighted their shared opposition to war, support for US peace efforts, and refusal to involve their countries in the conflict. “Brussels has decided to go to war with Russia, but Hungary will stay out, sending neither money nor weapons to Ukraine,” he reiterated.

Promising new era

Szijjártó described the Czech patriots’ victory as an opportunity to revitalise Visegrad cooperation, benefiting central Europe. He underscored mutually beneficial bilateral ties, including 10,000 jobs created by Czech firms in Hungary, broadening defence industry collaboration, oil and gas company MOL’s 300-plus petrol stations in the Czech Republic, and a Hungarian energy company supplying 1.5 million Czech consumers. For example, Hungarian Ikarus buses may hit the roads of multiple cities in the country.

“This marks the start of a promising new era in Hungarian-Czech relations, and we are ready to elevate cooperation to the highest level,” he said, adding that meetings with Babis, Deputy PM Karel Havlicek, and Speaker Tomio Okamura confirmed alignment on core issues. “It is encouraging that we will work together on these priorities in the coming period,” he concluded.