Our southern neighbors have a good opinion of Hungary, and the background of this positive opinion is largely the impact of the excellent interstate relations in Serbian public opinion, which relationship is best demonstrated by the frequent and always friendly meetings between Viktor Orbán and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucsic, CEPER found . from a research institute survey.
(Today's meeting with the Serbian Prime Minister and his delegation may also further improve the perception of Hungary - ed.)
Among the reasons is the fact that Hungary is committed to Serbia's EU accession, which it regularly voices in international forums. And in the person of the EU Commissioner responsible for neighborhood policy and enlargement Olivér Várhelyi, a Hungarian politician represents the European Union to the Serbian public, which can also strengthen the opinion of our country among the pro-accession group of Serbs.
The research firm emphasized that, in addition, Hungary has recently become one of the most important EU investors in the country, alongside Italy and the Netherlands, so more and more Serbians may feel that they owe their livelihood to Hungarian capital.
According to the research, while the image of Hungary in Serbia is particularly positive, our compatriots judge our southern neighbor less favorably. At home, forty percent of the respondents said that they have a good opinion of Serbia, which is the same as the value measured a year earlier.
Despite the fact that the situation of Vojvodina Hungarians in Serbia is improving, it is likely that respondents who feel responsible for the nation still have memories of the atrocities that were regularly inflicted on Hungarians until the beginning of the 2010s, for example regarding the use of their mother tongue.
Among respondents with opposition sentiments in Hungary, it is precisely the cordial relationship between Orbán and Vucsics that has just been mentioned that can worsen the perception of our southern neighbor. Nevertheless, compared to the data of five years ago, in 2016 - thirty percent - we can still perceive a ten percent improvement in the image of Serbia in Hungary, so it can be stated that the flourishing interstate relationship resonates in the public opinion of both countries, and the mutual perception is constantly improving - emerges from the research published by CEPER on the occasion of the joint Hungarian-Serbian government meeting.
Writing of the Hungarian Nation
Photo: Prime Minister's Press Office
