Hungary President: "We need Serbia in the European Union"

Hungarian President of Katalin Novak held talks with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic in Tirana on Monday.

A Sándor-palota által közreadott képen a Berlini folyamat csúcstalálkozóján résztvevő Novák Katalin köztársasági elnök (j) és Ana Brnabic szerb miniszterelnök (b) találkozója Tiranában 2023. október 16-án. MTI/Sándor-palota Fotó: Sándor-palota

"We need Serbia and the Western Balkans in the European Union," Hungarian President Katalin Novak said after talks with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic in Tirana on Monday. Hungary's president, who is in Albania to attend a summit of the Berlin Process, said Serbia and Hungary are strong strategic partners with a shared interest to see Serbia within the EU. She said Hungary could have a crucial role in Serbia’s integration since we know the region and its culture very well. 

Hungary supports Serbia’s EU accession because Serbia is an integral part of the EU, with European values that nobody could question. The EU has made many mistakes with the accession of other countries,

she stressed, adding that we are all facing the challenge of mass migration to Europe and we want to protect our borders, which is why Serbia's accession to the EU is of the utmost importance.

Hungary's president described Serbia's respect for the rights of ethnic minorities as exemplary. In this context, she recalled that on Saturday, she had attended the consecration service of the bishop of the Serbian Reformed Christian Church in Feketic (Bacsfeketehegy), Vojvodina, at which the Serbian government was represented by Serbia's deputy prime minister.

 This is another example of how national minority groups have flourished in a neighboring country and how they can contribute to the development of countries, she said.

This year, Tirana hosts the so-called Berlin Process Summit for the cooperation and EU integration of the countries in the Western Balkans. The Berlin Process was set up in 2014 as a platform for high-level cooperation between high official representatives of the Western Balkan Six (WB6) comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, and their peers in the Berlin Process host countries.

Cover photo: Attending the Berlin Process Summit, Hungarian President Katalin Novak (r) meets Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic (l) in Tirana on October 16, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Sandor-Palace)