Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that the decision by the European Council not to allow Macedonia to open accession talks this summer was very unfair. Szijjarto said that, despite the issue of Nikola Gruevski’s political asylum, Hungary remains a major supporter of Macedonia.

We believe that enlargement is in the true interest of the European Union and the decision to postpone the start of accession talks was a major loss for the EU and is against Hungarian interests. We are neighbors to this region and therefore we are sensitive to the importance and the need for EU integration, Szijjarto said during his visit to Macedonia.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister dismissed objections from EU member states that they didn’t have the time to process Macedonia’s application, reminding the public that Macedonia has been a candidate for 14 years. He added that Hungary support urgent opening of accession talks with Macedonia.