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President Pellegrini: SR will not boycott the Hungarian presidency in the EU Council

by AI | 22.Jul 2024 | Europe in brief AI

President Pellegrini on Thursday, July 18, arrived for the first official visit to Hungary since taking office.

Slovak President Peter Pellegrini (left) and Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok in Budapest on July 18, 2024. PHOTO TASR - Jaroslav Novák

BRATISLAVA – Slovakia will not join activities aimed at boycotting Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. President of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini announced this after Thursday’s (July 18) meeting with Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok in Budapest, reports a special correspondent for TASR.
“I don’t think that anyone should be punished just because they are trying to engage in some sort of dialogue – and the Slovak Republic will not do so either,” Pellegrini stated. He assured that representatives of the Slovak government will participate in activities of the Hungarian presidency at all appropriate levels. He sees no reason to punish the sovereign stance of the government of one of the EU countries just because someone doesn’t like it.
The Slovak president also asked the Hungarian head of state to include the topic of unfair trading practices and the persistent dual quality of food among Hungary’s priorities during its presidency. “The European Union and the Commission have not managed to solve this serious problem, and therefore I will be glad if Slovakia can continue to highlight this issue through the Hungarian presidency, and our representatives will certainly return to it at the autumn summit,” he explained.
Pellegrini described the Visegrad Group as a viable project. “I am convinced that in today’s times, there are a huge number of topics where the V4 countries can find a common language. And some of these topics are also priorities of Hungary during its presidency of the Council of the European Union,” he noted. He mentioned, for example, the priority of addressing illegal migration and the protection and support of agriculture. He also welcomes the agenda of the Hungarian presidency concerning the enlargement of the European Union to the Western Balkans.
The European Commission (EC) announced last Monday that it will be represented at informal ministerial meetings in Hungary only by senior officials, not commissioners. This was in response to recent visits by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to Moscow and Beijing. The European Parliament last Wednesday approved a resolution condemning Orbán’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico gave instructions to state representatives in the bodies of the European Union (EU) to ensure that the Slovak Republic (SR) does not in any way attack Hungary and its presidency of the Council of the EU. He announced this last Sunday (July 21) in a video on social media.