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Hungarian minister also discussed EU enlargement and the situation in the Middle East in Vienna
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János Bóka, the minister for European Union affairs, on Tuesday met Karoline Edtstadler, the Austrian Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution, in Vienna for bilateral talks on EU enlargement, strengthening competitiveness and the situation in the Middle East.
EU competitiveness will be the central focal point of the Hungarian presidency in the second half of 2024, Bóka told a press conference after the talks. All other priorities will be derived from that, and see Austria as a reliable partner in that aim, he said.
Regarding the bloc’s enlargement, Hungary’s stance had always been unequivocal, he said. “If the EU used its resourcefulness to advance the enlargement process rather than to hinder it, the countries of the Western Balkans would have become members long ago.”
On the matter of Ukraine’s accession, the member states must conduct an “open and honest” strategic debate before making the decision, he said.
Bóka said the debate would have to decide whether “accession talks with a country at war with a neighbouring nuclear power” would strengthen or weaken the EU. The member states will also have to determine the aim of the talks, “whether we want to spread peace or import war into the EU“.