(Finance) – Il President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Giorgia Meloniand the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbánthey had a meeting today at Palazzo Chigi.
Prime Minister Meloni congratulated Prime Minister Orbán on the success of the six-monthly rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Unionin particular for the adoption of the Budapest Declaration on competitiveness, as well as the opening of the first chapter of the accession negotiations with Albania and the progress made with Bulgaria and Romania regarding the enlargement of the Schengen area.
Following talks during Prime Minister Orbán’s last visit to Rome last June, the two Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further promote bilateral partnership. They expressed satisfaction with the profitable trade relations (trade worth 14 billion euros in 2023), and the desire to further strengthen investments and trade, especially in the infrastructure and energy sectors.
The two Heads of Government are confident that they will continue to strengthen political dialogue and coordinate mutually on the main international issues. In particular, they discussed the situation in the Middle East, their support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, and their commitment to reconstruction ahead of the upcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference which will be hosted by Italy in July 2025.
The two Leaders expressed satisfaction with the excellent level of cooperation achieved within NATO in the security and defense sectorsin particular through the support of the Hungarian-led multinational battalion by the Italian Armed Forces (260 soldiers). They confirmed that they will continue to ensure their presence in support of NATO and EU initiatives for the stabilization of the Western Balkans, and reiterated their strong support for the enlargement process of the countries in the region.
The meeting also made it possible to reaffirm the importance of combating irregular migration. The two Heads of Government hoped for a strengthening cooperation with countries of origin and transitto address the root causes and to combat smuggling and trafficking in human beings to prevent loss of life and irregular departures. In particular, they shared the urgency of an updated legal framework to facilitate, increase and accelerate repatriations from the European Union, with particular attention to consolidating the concept of safe countries of origin. Finally, they emphasized the importance of exploring new ways to prevent and combat irregular migrationin compliance with EU and international law, on the basis of the path started by the Italy-Albania agreement.