We believe that your country’s membership in the EU is key to the stability of the Western Balkans and the whole of Europe, said Hungarian President Katalin Novák, who is paying an official visit to Macedonia.

At the joint press conference with President Stevo Pendarovski, Hungarian President Novák expressed hope that Hungary will be able to help speed up the process of joining the EU.

Apart from Macedonia’s membership in the EU, Novák also talked about the war in Ukraine, the fight against illegal migration, for which she indicated that 30 Hungarian police officers are serving on the Macedonian-Greek border, the issue of demography and the exchange of experiences that Hungary is doing in support of families, as well as for the exchange of cultural values.

We believe that it is quite unfair that you have to suffer delays and we are aware that if this process cannot continue as it should, pessimism regarding the membership will appear, noted Novák.

We, emphasized Novák, condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and stand for the inviolability of sovereignty.

The war has brought many problems, and therefore we would like a ceasefire as soon as possible and a model of peace to be found, thus ensuring the long-term security of Europe, said Novák.

Novák assessed mutual bilateral cooperation as progressing well lately and expressed a hope that her visit will contribute to bilateral relations developing in that direction.

President Stevo Pendarovski, at the joint press conference with President Novák said that this is the first, after 20 years, since the last official visit of a Hungarian president to our country.

Hungary is one of the loudest and most active members of the EU in supporting the enlargement process with the countries of the Western Balkans and a country that played a significant role in the decision to start accession negotiations for our country, Pendarovski said.

At the meeting, Pendarovski indicated that he was assured that the support will continue and that Hungary considers the enlargement as one of the most strategic policies of the EU, with political and advisory support it will continue to promote Macedonian integration.

We have dynamic economic cooperation with Hungary, which is on an upward trend. Hungary is among our ten largest trade partners, with trade exchange last year of almost half a billion euros and a continuous trend of surplus on the Macedonian side, Pendaroski pointed out.