President Novák: Hungary mediator between W Balkans, EU

Hungary has a mediating role between the Western Balkans and the European Union, President Katalin Novák said on Wednesday in Pristina, after talks with her Kosovan counterpart, Vjosa Osmani.

Peace and security in the Western Balkans is key to European peace and stability, Novák told a joint press conference. The peacekeeping mission stationed in the region, and EU membership for the countries there, are two contributing factors to that aim, she said.

As commander-in-chief of the Hungarian armed forces it is traditional for the president to visit troops serving abroad, as she was now doing, visiting the 500-strong KFOR unit in Kosovo, she said.

“Seeing a Hungarian commander heading the KFOR mission is especially gratifying,” she said, congratulating Major General Ferenc Kajari.

Hungary is committed to supporting the European integration of Western Balkan countries, including Kosovo, she said.

The membership candidacy of Ukraine and Moldova, which the two countries received last year, was “both an opportunity and a danger”, Novák said. The process could be accelerated for those meeting the requirements, “but it could also mean that countries with a politically motivated nomination might overtake others in spite of fulfilling the requirements only later.”