ROMANIA
In Bucharest, Viktor Orban met first with Hunor Kelemen, president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), in keeping with the tradition of holding an informal meeting with UDMR's leader before top Hungarian politicians start official talks in Romania. "Good luck for the European and municipal elections," Viktor Orban posted on Facebook after his talks with UDMR's head.
Hunor Kelemen posted a photo of himself with the Hungarian prime minister, writing "Hungarian summit in Romania".
Following the meeting, Viktor Orban held working consultations with Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu at the Victoria Palace.
The working meeting was also attended by Romanian Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu and Hungarian Minister for European Union Affairs Janos Boka. In an interview yesterday, Ciolacu told the Romanian DC News portal that
he believes that President Klaus Johannis stands a good chance of becoming NATO secretary general, as no decision-maker opposes him.
Romania's prime minister noted that the same cannot be said of his contender, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose appointment is not supported by Hungary, for example. Marcel Ciolacu added that he is proud of every Romanian citizen who gets an important position on a global level. In his view, Johannis could be a successful candidate in the race to become the next NATO leader, as the eastern flank should also be represented in the European and North Atlantic structures.
In the evening, Viktor Orban joined the preparatory meeting on the EU’s strategic agenda 2024-2029 in Bucharest, together with the prime ministers of Croatia, Belgium and Slovenia, Romania's president and European Council President Charles Michel.
The strategic agenda is a document to be adopted at the end of the EU’s institutional term, outlining the strategic challenges for the next institutional cycle and providing guidance to the EU institutions. The agenda is adopted by the heads of state and government and is discussed in small groups in several European cities before being adopted.
Before the mini-summit, Romanian President Klaus Johannis held a face-to-face discussion with Charles Michel. The two of them were the hosts of the preparatory working meeting on the strategic agenda in Bucharest. At a press conference following the bilateral meeting, the European Council's president congratulated President Johannis on Romania's partial accession to Schengen, Agerpres reported. Romania and Bulgaria joined the Schengen area on air and sea routes on March 31.
According to Romanian press reports, during the informal working meeting held with the participation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, the Romanian head of state and the European Council president, nominations for the top NATO position may have been also touched on alongside EU issues. As is known,
Hungary is opposed to the Dutch prime minister succeeding Jens Stoltenberg, and the security organization makes the decision on the post of secretary general by consensus among member states.
In Brussels on Wednesday, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto emphasized that
no central or eastern European member country has delegated a secretary general to NATO in its entire history, therefore it would be high time, with special regard to the fact that the main security challenge comes from that direction.
The foreign ministry's statement quoted Szijjarto as reiterating the Hungarian government’s inability to endorse Mark Rutte, who had earlier spoken about bringing Hungary to its knees. Hungary's foreign minister said some member states were hesitant, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis’s nomination has created a new situation in this regard.
The photo released by the Hungarian Prime Minister's Press Office features European Council Secretary General Therese Blanchet, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, European Council President Charles Michel, Romanian President Klaus Johannis, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (from left to right) at the preparatory meeting of the EU strategic agenda 2024-2029 at the Cotroceni Palace, the president's residence in Bucharest, on April 3, 2024 (Photo: MTI/Hungarian PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)
