On the invitation of his German counterpart, the Hungarian Foreign minister arrived in Germany for a two-day visit to mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Hungary on Friendly Cooperation and Partnership in Europe.

On the press conference following the meeting in the capital of Germany, Guido Westerwelle emphasised that for opening the borders in September 1989 and for the solidarity manifested in this act, Hungary “will always have a special place in the hearts of the German people”, and the agreement signed in 1992 had laid new foundations for the relations between the two countries. “We will never forget the brave Hungarian nation” contributing to the unity of Germany and, therefore, to the unity of Europe, he said.

János Martonyi highlighted that the visit “is well-timed to celebrate the 20th anniversary, to look back and ponder what was successful and what was not”. He added that Germany “continues to be Hungary’s most important partner in economy, culture and on a human level as well”. The Minister stated that Hungary considered the German Government’s position in various issues of international politics to be extremely important for several reasons including Hungary’s similarly active participation in the Common Foreign and Security Policy. “We have many problems; I would not like to list them. With regard to these as well, it is very much important to be in continuous communication in the framework of our bilateral relations too,” he said.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister congratulated the German Government, the German diplomacy for the success which had after all been achieved by Europe agreeing to sign the fiscal pact, an intergovernmental agreement: “For the time being, only a political agreement was reached, but a vast majority of Member States – in all probability including eight non-eurozone countries – seem to sign it.”

János Martonyi affirmed Hungary’s intention to join; in a few days the Government proposes that the Parliament should authorise the Prime Minister in a decision to sign the agreement, which is later to be ratified by the Parliament. He added: “We might say this does not cost much for us, as these obligations currently do not apply to us. This is true, but we really hope that these obligations will bind us from the moment Hungary joins the eurozone. This agreement is essential; I believe all of Europe can be grateful to Germany and to all supporting it from the beginnings. We would have preferred the amendment of the Treaties, but – as we all know – we did not manage to achieve this; however, it remains our aim to include this agreement in the Treaties.”

In the negotiations the participants spoke about the question of the candidate status of Serbia as well, the support of which is of utmost importance to Hungarian foreign policy.

Turning to economy, János Martonyi highlighted in the press conference that the Hungarian situation was better than generally considered, having enormous surplus in the balance of trade and payments. “We have competitive industry and export (…), which is among others due to German-owned companies in Hungary exporting competitively to all over the world.” Concerning the budget deficit, he made it clear again that the government keeps it under 3% this year and in 2013: “In the following days we send further documents to the European Commission, clearly supporting that the Hungarian budget deficit of 2013 will also be under 3%.” Mr Martonyi noted it was good news for Hungary as well that the German economy had recently given positive signs.

The infringement procedures against Hungary were also mentioned on the press conference in Berlin. The German Foreign Minister explained that “the doubts, criticisms and concerns” surrounding certain laws “should be taken seriously”, and it was also in Hungary’s interest to adjust the criticised laws to EU law, if necessary.

Concerning the controversial issues, János Martonyi emphasised that the Hungarian government would settle them as soon as possible: “We have solutions for basically all the questions, and we really hope that these will be acceptable without exceptions”. “We are open in all the other issues as well; we listen to each friend of ours; moreover, we await their comments”, added the Hungarian Foreign Minister. “We are ready to dispute, talk about, and correct all the matters; the only thing we cannot accept is the expression of doubt about our commitment to fundamental values, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.”

Source: kormany.hu