Duitsland bedankt Hongaars voorzitterschap en zegt steun toe voor laatste maanden (en)

During talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán i in Berlin on 5th May, 2011, German Chancellor Angela Merkel i thanked the Hungarian Presidency for the work carried out so far and promised that Germany would support the Presidency for the rest of its term.

At the joint follow-up press conference, Mrs Merkel stated that in the past few months, the EU had achieved substantial progress in implementing the most important tasks so far. The Chancellor said that she and Mr Orbán had agreed on the challenges ahead for the EU and reviewed the Hungarian Presidency’s remaining tasks for the rest of its term accordingly.

In relation to the objectives of the Hungarian Presidency, the German Chancellor referred to Croatia’s accession, and said that Berlin was "very open" to Croatia joining the European Union. She expressed hopes that the accession negotiations would yield favourable results, so that Zagreb would be able to join the EU as soon as possible. Regarding the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area, Angela Merkel said that we should wait for the European Commission summer report.

The German Chancellor said she was convinced that the Hungarian Presidency would continue to be just as successful during the rest of its term.

Viktor Orbán thanked Germany for backing Croatia’s accession. He called the integration of the West Balkans into the EU a strategic objective, stating that Croatia’s accession was the first and most significant step.

The Hungarian Prime Minister thanked Germany for its support to the Hungarian Presidency so far. He underlined that both countries shared a common view on Europe’s strategic issues. He added that it was extremely important for Hungary to preserve European achievements, to successfully conclude the Presidency’s term, including the legislation for the enhancement of economic governance, to develop the Schengen system and to promote Croatia’s EU accession.

The Hungarian Presidency’s priorities include the adoption of the six legislative proposals for the economic governance reform by the end of June. Consequently, during the next two months, the most important task will be to reach a political agreement with the European Parliament.

Regarding Croatia’s accession, the Hungarian Presidency had already clearly committed itself to concluding the accession talks with Croatia by the end of June. Hungary is convinced that Croatia is able to fulfil the remaining requirements, in full cooperation and dialogue with the EU. The Hungarian Presidency believes that Croatia’s accession is important for the whole region, as it would send a positive message to the whole of the West Balkans that efforts are followed by progress towards integration.

Concerning the possible review of the Schengen system, the Hungarian Presidency takes the view that the abolishment of internal border control is one of the most important achievements of the EU, to be compared to the adoption of the common currency, the euro, and that it should therefore be preserved.

(MTI; eu2011.hu)