The problem of energy dependence must be solved at the same time and in such a way that it does not result in another unilateral dependence, said László Kövér, President of the Parliament, at the meeting of the parliament presidents of the V4 countries in Bratislava. The security situation in the region, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and illegal migration were the central topics at the meeting of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Bratislava.

The Hungarian speaker assessed the meeting as bringing the participants closer to understanding each other's positions, and the meeting also provided an opportunity to confirm that the Visegrad Four are very important regional components of European cooperation. In relation to the latter, he highlighted: the secret of the lasting success of the V4 cooperation is that they seek cooperation on topics that have more in common than dividing elements, and try to avoid issues on which opinions differ.

László Kövér said about the topics on the agenda: on one of the strategic topics, the security challenges posed by the Russian-Ukrainian war, the strategic agreement created the common denominator. the existence of a sovereign and democratic Ukraine is necessary. Regarding the war in Ukraine, the speaker of the House emphasized: Since the outbreak of the war, Hungary has implemented humanitarian action of such an extraordinary scale that it has never been forced to do before.

The President of the National Assembly also spoke about the problem of illegal migration, pointing out that it continues and, in addition to the war, continues to affect the security of the region. "There is also the danger that in the shadow of the war, the fact that the problem of illegal migration has not abated, and that the number of people entering Europe illegally has increased." He explained: last year, the number of illegal migrants turned back from the border more than doubled, from 120,000 to 270,000.

"For our part, we consider the steps taken by the EU to support the countries that do the most to stop illegal migration to be insufficient," he stated. He pointed out: maintaining the operation of the Schengen area depends fundamentally on curbing illegal migration, and the latter is one of the conditions for the economic operation of the area.

In connection with the energy crisis and possible responses, the speaker emphasized that the problem of energy dependence must be solved at the same time and in such a way that it does not result in another unilateral dependence, and that the specific situation of each country must also be taken into account during the search for a solution.

You can read the full article in Magyar Hírlap

Photo: István Filep