| Foreign Minister Péter Balázs held talks with his Greek counterpart, Dimitrios Droutsas, who accompanied Prime Minister George Papandreou on a visit to Hungary.  They noted the especial importance of a greater and more effective coordination of common interests within the European Union. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty there is an even greater such need – they agreed. In this interest, they decided to boost the efficacy of the cooperation mechanism between the two foreign ministries. Among the areas of cooperation, they identified advancing the European integration of the Western Balkan countries, deepening the region’s transport and energy cooperation as well as setting up the European External Action Service. Mr Droutsas emphasised opportunities opened in environment protection and common exploration of alternative energy sources.
Mr Balázs briefed his Greek partner on the events and results related to the regionally-focused activities of Hungary’s diplomacy to include organising summits on the Western Balkans, energy security, the Eastern Partnership and the Danube Strategy in the capacity of the term president of the Visegrad Four group . Mr Droutsas paid tribute to these activities and welcomed Hungarian support for the Greek “Agenda 2014” initiative in connection with the EU accession of Western Balkans. He emphasised that 2014 is not a date set in stone but aims to encourage EU Member States to advance the process, urging at the same time the Western Balkans countries to go ahead in fulfilling membership criteria.
The aims of the Hungarian-Greek-Serbian trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in the near future were also discussed at the meeting. Mr Droutsas signalled that Greece, as the next president of the Black-Sea Economic Cooperation, is interested in the Danube Strategy; there are a good opportunities to work together in this framework, too – he added. Mr Balázs welcomed the idea of expanding cooperation between the two geographically close areas, and stressed the open nature of the Danube Region Strategy.  As regards bilateral ties, the head of Hungarian diplomacy urged the renewal of close scientific and technical cooperation, emphasising that the related mixed committee meeting should be organised in Athens as soon as possible. He expressed great appreciation for the Greek government’s contribution to the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team’s civil development programmes in Afghanistan, and expressed gratitude for this. He qualified this cooperation as exemplary being convinced that it should be continued. In connection with the return to Greece of its antiques, Mr Balázs expressed hope that the issue would soon be resolved after the necessary technical details have been clarified. The ministers expressed their mutual commitment to the further development of consular cooperation. Mr Droutsas expressed gratitude for the work of the EU Common Visa Application Centre operated as a section of the Hungarian Embassy in Moldova which has been issuing short-term visas on behalf of Greece since January 1, 2008. In turn, Mr Balázs paid thanks to the Greek Consulate in Sydney offering work space for the Hungarian consul of the Canberra embassy to hold consulting hours. Similar cooperation is under consideration at the Greek Consulate in Ukrainian city of Mariupol. (March 16, 2010) |