Press statement by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán following a plenary session of the Hungarian–Serbian Strategic Cooperation Council

Honourable President of the Republic, Ladies and Gentlemen,

This meeting of the Strategic Council has taken place at an interesting and exciting time, and - in addition to the usual deep and friendly feelings - this has given today's meeting a special atmosphere. The fact is that no one is surprised that the Serbs and the Hungarians are holding high-level strategic talks and concluding cooperation agreements - everyone now takes this for granted. We always forget how much work is behind this. These relations are the result of many years of hard work, and over the past decade the driving force behind this work has been President Aleksandar Vučić. I would like to thank him - both on behalf of the Hungarian government and also on behalf of all the citizens of Hungary - for doing everything possible to put Serbian-Hungarian relations on the most positive footing they have ever been in history.

Two ambitious nations have met here today. I can only speak for Hungarians, but when I look at the Serbs, there is plenty of ambition there too. There is a lot more that we want from the world, many injustices must be remedied, imbalances must be redressed, and lost historical opportunities must be made up for. We have absolutely no desire to resign ourselves to the fate that the 20th century dealt us. We too want to be a successful, large and prosperous country, and we are pleased to have a neighbour with similar ambitions. This is partly because one draws strength from this, and partly because everyone knows that a good neighbour always enhances the value of one's own land. So a successful Serbia also increases the value of Hungary, and therefore we have an interest in ensuring that in the years ahead the Serbs are just as successful, content, balanced and prosperous as we are. I think that this shared attitude to the future provides the basis for cooperation. There is nothing new in what I have said so far - we already knew this.

The aspect that is new is the situation in which the world finds itself. We in Hungary, Mr. President, call this the new reality. A new reality has been created with the US presidential election. A new reality has also emerged in Europe with the appearance of the sovereigntist Patriots parliamentary group and political alliance. And everyone can see that these new forces - that up until now have been forced into retreat - will be successful. The future belongs to sovereign, independent, proud and successful nations. This is the new reality. Everyone in Europe must adapt their own destiny and their own policies to this reality. This is why today's meeting was so exciting. How do the Serbs respond, and how do the Hungarians respond, to this new reality? Our responses coincide in one area: we are responding to the new reality by deepening Serbian-Hungarian cooperation. So we not only want to broaden and intensify it, but also to deepen it. We also want to extend it to areas that have not hitherto been central. If the new reality is that security is becoming more important, then we must also cooperate more in the field of security. If Europe is suffering from high energy prices, we need to cooperate even more on energy. If we have to fear that blocs will form in Europe and that Europe will respond to the new situation with protectionism, then we need to strengthen connectivity: we need to interconnect with one another even more. This is why today's discussions were also about the big questions of connectivity.

We all know that, due to developments in recent years, Hungary's energy supply is increasingly transiting through Serbia. The Ukrainian-Russian war has cut off the other route, and so as a country offering the possibility of security and a guarantee, for Hungary Serbia has become our first choice. From Hungary's point of view, from the point of view of Hungarian security, today there is no country more important than Serbia. Energy, which is of arterial importance to Hungary, today comes into our country via Serbia, and therefore Serbia is a key country for Hungary. This is why today we have reviewed our projects and decided on new ones in the areas of oil transport, gas transport, electricity transmission, and the trade and storage of natural gas. And from the end of the year, the two countries will be operating a joint electricity exchange. We have confirmed that by the beginning of 2026 we will have finished the Budapest-Belgrade railway line, which is another artery entering Hungary via Serbia. But the biggest commitment we have made is that we will radically change the situation at border crossing points, which is currently detrimental to the citizens of our countries or nations. We have jointly committed to making the Röszke-Horgos/Horgoš motorway border crossing point the most modern, fastest and most civilised border crossing point in Europe, with a huge major investment that we will carry out together.

Finally, I would like to mention that Hungary is also on the side of peace. This shared position also strengthens Serbian-Hungarian friendship, and as Hungarians we shall remain on the side of peace, whatever happens in the coming weeks. We have taken on major conflicts in order to avoid being pushed into the Russo-Ukrainian war, and we have stayed out of it. This is not our war, we are on the side of peace, and we shall stay on the side of peace.

We were pleased to note that during the Hungarian Presidency, during the rotating Presidency of the European Council, we were able to provide Serbia with substantial assistance to speed up the process of European integration and to make greater progress. Europe must understand that it is not Serbia that needs the European Union, but the European Union that needs Serbia. Europe has problems with growth dynamics, and from new Member States we can only hope for new momentum, new dynamism and new energy. In this respect Serbia is the best candidate. If someone wants to see what Serbia can bring to the European economy, I suggest that they visit Belgrade twice in two or three months, and then they will see the progress that Serbia can bring to the European Union. This is why we - guided by Hungarian interests, Serbian interests, and the shared interests of the European Union - will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that as soon as possible we can be in the same Union as you, the Serbs.

Honourable President,

Thank you very much for your work today.