The Hungarian Prime minister met Donald Tusk, Karol Nawrocki and Lech Walesa.
Warsaw
Magyar: Strong C Europe key to strong Europe
Prime Minister Peter Magyar highlighted the importance of a strong central Europe in creating a strong Europe after talks with his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, in Warsaw on Wednesday. Magyar also extended an invitation to Tusk for a visit to Budapest late in June.
A strong Europe requires “strong, competitive, confident but humble member states,” Magyar said. “In order for Europe to regain its former strength, it needs a central Europe comprising strong, competitive member states that are proud of themselves and cooperating with each other.”
Regarding the talks, Magyar welcomed the opportunity to “open a new chapter in the thousand-year-old Hungarian-Polish friendship.”
“If Hungary’s history was difficult, then Poland’s was extremely so; and yet, Poland is here, stronger than ever, and so is Hungary, and I am confident it will soon be stronger than ever,” Magyar said.
The Hungarian prime minister thanked Tusk for his support before the recent parliamentary election.
Concerning the invitation to Tusk, Magyar said he would extend similar invitations to the Czech and Slovak premiers, and said he hoped they could all meet late in June, before the end of Hungary’s Visegrad Group presidency.
Magyar said Hungary would be partner to Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia “in all areas … to restore the strength, glory and influence of the V4 in Europe”. The prime minister said it was important to work to expand the V4 cooperation “whether to our Scandinavian friends, or Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, as well as non-EU countries in the Western Balkans.”
“The heart of Europe is now in central Europe and we will need to work to help that heart keep beating as long and as strong as possible,” Magyar said.
Magyar said he had discussed a number of subjects with Tusk, and that the negotiations would continue throughout the day. He called European security and energy security of paramount importance, adding that they could cooperate more closely in these areas than before and that he would welcome Polish experiences on that subject as well as in other areas.
Meanwhile, he pointed to the notion that “changes in Poland will arrive in Budapest sooner or later”, saying that “the Warsaw Express has arrived in Budapest with the Tisza Party’s election victory”.
He said Tusk had faced similar problems after winning the latest election in Poland. Among those he mentioned the rule of law issues, the repatriation and efficient use of European Union funds, and the fight against corruption. He said he greatly valued “the experience of the Polish PM, the Polish government, and the Polish nation”.
Answering a question concerning the war in Ukraine, Magyar said “Ukraine is the victim of the war and has every right to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity with all means at its disposal.” In view of the many casualties on both sides, the first step is a longer ceasefire as soon as possible, and a lasting peace “truly guaranteed by international partners”, he added.
Concluding the war as soon as possible is also in the interest of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, he said.
With the Tisza government there is now an opportunity to open a new chapter in the relations between Ukraine and Hungary, Magyar said, adding that expert-level talks had already started on the Hungarian minority’s right to use their mother tongue and culture, among other issues. He said he hoped he would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berehove (Beregszasz) in early June.
Guarantees as to the rights of the Hungarian minority are conditional to Hungary approving the opening the first chapter of Ukraine’s EU accession, he added.
According to the Hungarian prime minister, Poland has become a crucial regional centre of the EU in terms of defence policy, agriculture, food production and infrastructure developments. “On must not be jealous but learn and cooperate to have such development in Hungary whether its is the railways, energy infrastructure or defence,” Magyar said.
Concerning Poland’s former justice minister and his deputy, who had been granted asylum by the former Hungarian government but who has now left Hungary, Magyar assured his counterpart that Hungary was ready to cooperate in efforts to ensure that “these persons return to Poland and are brought to justice”. “Hungary will not be a depository of internationally wanted criminals,” he added.
He also added that the two former officials had left Hungary before he entered his office. One of them left for the United States but not directly from Hungary, while the other has been reported to have left Hungary for Serbia, the prime minister said.
Tusk: Poland, Hungary interests ‘nearly identical’
The interests of Poland and Hungary “nearly fully coincide”, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after talks with Peter Magyar, his Hungarian counterpart, in Warsaw on Wednesday.
“Though there has been a small break in relations, it was not due to Poles and Hungarians being on bad terms but due to differences in political position,” Tusk said.
Tusk said Magyar had won a “fantastic victory” at Hungary’s recent election, and added that he had been “long waiting” for that moment. He praised Magyar’s ability to fight, adding that the Hungarian prime minister “has not only friends in Poland but fans also”.
Poland strives to restore cooperation between central European countries, Tusk said, and highlighted the “very important” role of Hungary and Poland working together in those efforts. He said it was crucial to revive the Visegrad Group, adding that he and Magyar saw eye to eye that central Europe “should become a place where decisions concerning Europe’s future are also made.”
He said he would welcome a V4 prime ministers’ meeting in Budapest before Hungary’s presidency of the group ended in June.
Tusk said he and Magyar had agreed that it was in the mutual interest of both countries for the region to become a place “where decisions about Europe’s future are made”. “Not only do we know Europe and the European Union from the inside, but we have also come to understand the significance of this region, and the Visegrad cooperation will be key in this regard. Poland and Hungary are called upon to play a leading role so that Europe becomes more like us,” he said.
Regarding energy cooperation, Tusk noted that Poland, which previously depended on Russia for 90 percent of its oil and natural gas supplies, has successfully diversified its energy imports in a very short time. He offered his assistance to Hungary in the form of investments and other opportunities “to help Hungary and the entire region become self-sufficient and autonomous in energy supply.”
Donald Tusk also touched on the two countries’ cooperation in European politics, calling for the development of a common European position regarding Ukraine’s EU accession, “upon which Warsaw is looking favorably.” He added, at the same time, that the same rules must be followed by Ukraine that had previously applied to Poland when they became EU members.
Tusk also thanked Magyar for his willingness to help resolve the cases of two members of the previous Polish government suspected of criminal offenses: former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who was granted asylum in Hungary and left the country after the change of government in Hungary, and his deputy, Marcin Romanowski.
Magyar discusses bilateral ties, CEE security with Polish president
Hungarian-Polish relations, with special regard to business ties, support for Hungary’s endeavours for independence from Russian gas, security in central and eastern Europe and regional cooperation were on the agenda of talks between Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar and Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday, the Polish president’s office told portal Polsat News.
Marcin Przydacz, the head of the presidential office, called the talks pragmatic and meaningful, adding that they served to strengthen the already good ties between the two countries. He said the Hungarian prime minister “wants to stay away from Poland’s internal political disputes”. Concerning Russia’s “aggressive policy” and Europe’s future, Przydacz said “Magyar is not as politically naive as [Polish PM] Donald Tusk when it comes to policy making within the EU, with special regard to climate or migration policy.”
At the talks, Magyar and Nawrocki also touched on releasing frozen European Peace Facility funds and the Three Seas Initiative, which is “especially close to the heart of the Polish president”, Przydacz said.
Gdansk
Magyar: Hungarians have heeded Pope John Paul II’s call not to be afraid
The Hungarian people have embraced Pope John Paul II’s advice not to be afraid, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said in Gdansk on Wednesday, thanking Hungarians for heeding the former pontiff’s call.
On the final stop of his visit to Poland, Magyar called it an “honour and deeply moving” to walk in the footsteps of his “greatest role model” in John Paul II’s homeland. He noted that no phrase had featured more in his election campaign than the former pontiff’s famous words.
“It is touching to see the attention and support we’ve received from the hundreds of thousands, nearly a million Hungarian citizens living abroad,” he said.
“Thank you for the love you’ve shown us, whether here, in Warsaw, or Krakow. We will do our best to repay it. Take care of yourselves, and we look forward to welcoming you home soon,” he told Hungarians living in Gdansk.
Magyar added that he was proud they could contribute to the thousand-year Polish-Hungarian friendship. “Take care of yourselves, and we look forward to welcoming you home soon,” he said.
Addressing Poles, Magyar noted this was his first official trip abroad as prime minister after a two-year election campaign, during which he visited some 700 Hungarian towns and pledged that his first foreign visit after victory would be to Poland, a promise he said had been warmly received by Warsaw.
The prime minister reflected on the shared thousand-year history of Hungary and Poland, saying it was particularly meaningful that his visit began in Krakow, one of Europe’s cultural capitals.
He called Gdansk a special place, the city where the second world war began, the Solidarity movement was born and communism started to collapse. He noted that it is also the birthplace of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Magyar thanked Poland for its hospitality and expressed hope for a better European future for both nations. “Long live Hungarian-Polish friendship!” he declared.
During his visit to Gdansk, Magyar met former Polish president and former leader of the Solidarity movement Lech Walesa, receiving an original Solidarity protest sign signed by Jerzy Janiszewski, the designer of the movement’s logo, as a memento.
Tusk: Magyar’s victory marks a new spring for Europe
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s election victory and his visit to Gdansk, where the Solidarity union triumphed in 1980, signals the start of a new European spring for the continent and the world, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a speech during a joint visit Gdansk with Magyar on Wednesday.
According to Polish public television TVP’s broadcast, the two leaders walked through Gdansk’s Old Town, along Dluga Street, where they were greeted by cheering crowds, before reaching the 18th-century Uphagen House, where they met the Solidarity movement’s first leader and former president Lech Walesa. The former president presented Magyar with an original Solidarity protest sign as a gift. They then visited the Artus Court, once a hub for merchants and now home to the Gdansk History Museum.
Addressing the crowd, Magyar spoke in both English and Hungarian. Tusk also gave a speech, in which he said the heart of Europe was beating in Gdansk, as “everything good in Europe” had begun there. Now, he added, everything good in Europe began in Budapest.
Quoting Walesa’s defiant words under communism, Tusk said “they can beat us, but they cannot defeat us”, adding that Magyar had said the same words during his campaign, as he had fought for Hungary’s freedom “from a corrupt regime”, its return to Europe and for Polish-Hungarian friendship.
Tusk thanked Magyar, calling his victory and visit to Solidarity’s birthplace a powerful message to Europe and the world. He said the European spring had begun again, just as the Springtime of Nations did in Pest-Buda in 1848, in Hungary and Poland, and later in Gdansk under communism. He said Poland believed that Europe’s spring, “with people like you, will never end”.
Tusk concluded his speech by leading the crowd in an applause for Magyar.
MTI
