Hungary and Slovakia also speak in the voice of peace

László Kövér and Peter Pellegrini discussed illegal migration and the future of the European Union. The Slovak politician was later received by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Hungary will stand by the policy of peace and is happy that Slovakia is also speaking in the voice of peace, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared after receiving Peter Pellegrini, the president of the Slovak parliament, in the Carmelite monastery on Monday. Referring to the Russian-Ukrainian war, the prime minister said in his press statement after the meeting: Hungarians are watching with concern what is happening, that hundreds of thousands are dying, becoming widows and hundreds of thousands of children are becoming orphans. We don't see where this war ends, he added.

Viktor Orbán stated: the most important issue today is peace, but at the same time, the whole of Europe speaks the language of war.

He emphasized: he is very happy that, in addition to Hungary, Slovakia also speaks in the voice of peace. He indicated that he assured his interlocutor that Hungary would stand by the peace policy and indicated that he would like them to be able to work together for the sake of peace.

We live in an age of danger, and good-neighborly relations are valued at this time - he emphasized, promising that Hungary will do everything in the future to be a good neighbor to Slovakia.

He said: during the meeting with the Slovak parliament president, they also talked about sovereignty, because in Brussels they want to take away the veto right from the member states on certain issues, that there should be unanimity.

He emphasized: in this case, both consider sovereignty to be important.

The Slovak guest was previously received by Speaker László Kövér: at this meeting, the challenges caused by illegal migration and the future of the European Union were also discussed.

Speaker László Kövér emphasized in his statement after the meeting: cooperation within the framework of the European Union is an extremely important issue. In addition to migration, this also includes the future of the union, said the President of the Hungarian Parliament, emphasizing that the two countries follow similar principles and goals in the field of enlargement.

The admission of the South-East European states awaiting accession must be accelerated, he pointed out, "the treatment the European Union accords to these states is morally unacceptable and unfair".

László Kövér said: Hungary and Slovakia are driven by similar interests and principles in the transformation of the organizational and contractual system of the European Union.

We insist that the European Union be the framework for the equal cooperation of sovereign states in the future, said the Hungarian speaker.

He stated: they oppose and try to obstruct any informal, stealthy efforts that try to pump the powers of the nation states to Brussels.

He assessed the enforcement of migrant quotas or the violent assertion of interests in any other area on the part of Brussels as the realization of this.

The President of the National Assembly stated: we do not agree and do not agree to a treaty amendment in which powers would formally be withdrawn to undermine the sovereignty of the nation-state. He cited the abolition of unanimous decision-making as an example.

He emphasized: the more than 1,100 years of coexistence connects the two nations, "we were together in good times and bad."

We are also connected by the interests of the present, including the area of ​​economic and commercial cooperation. Hungary's number three partner is Slovakia, which in itself indicates how close the cooperation is.

Future interests and visions of the future also connect the two countries, and it is worth working even more intensively to strengthen cooperation. On behalf of the Hungarian Parliament, László Kövér made a promise to his Slovak colleague.

Peter Pellegrini, the president of the Slovak National Council, appreciated the openness and directness of the discussion. He explained that he came to visit Budapest for the inauguration of a bridge in Ipoly, which he called of symbolic importance. Bridges must be connected, collaborations must be created and not torn apart, he pointed out.

According to the President of the Slovak Parliament, there are many areas where good friends work together and have similar views, like Slovakia and Hungary.

He emphasized: they share the same position on the fight against illegal migration and both countries protect their respective parts of the Schengen border.

He underlined: he appreciates the way Hungary protects the Slovak airspace, as well as the Slovak police helping to protect the Hungarian-Serbian border.

Peter Pellegrini said: they also agreed that they would never agree to the implementation of mandatory migrant quotas. Both countries have a sovereign right to declare who they want to live with and who they don't want to live with.

The position regarding the solution to the conflict in Ukraine is very similar - he continued, underlining: Pope Francis also said that the courage to end the conflict must be found.

The Slovak Speaker said he will never understand why many politicians attack the Pope's position.

At Monday's meeting, he clearly repeated his government's position that Slovakia will not send any soldiers to Ukrainian territory under any circumstances.

It is also extremely important for Slovakia to continue the cooperation of the V4, in those areas where the opinions were the same or almost the same, the cooperation always brought extremely good results, he added.

The population of the V4 member states is 10 percent of the population of the Union, and therefore the voice of the two countries and their neighbors should be heard much more strongly in Brussels, he believed.

Peter Pellegrini expressed his pleasure that they were able to agree on an even stronger cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries, which applies not only to the Speaker's level, but also to lower levels.

He also reported that support for national minorities was also discussed at the meeting. Specific projects are being prepared that can be implemented in the coming months.

MTI

Cover photo: Viktor Orbán with his Slovak guest in the Carmelite monastery
Source: Facebook/Viktor Orbán