Hungarian foreign minister grateful for Czech support in conflict with EP

The visiting Hungarian Foreign Minister Petér Szijjarto on Friday thanked the Czech Republic for coming out in Hungary’s defence in its controversy with the European Parliament over the country’s internal developments.

The European Parliament in September voted to launch a procedure against Hungary over its alleged breach of core EU values, an unprecedented move against any EU member state. The Czech Republic criticized the decision as unfortunate, arguing that dialogue would have been a better option.

During their talks in Prague foreign ministers Petér Szijjarto and Tomáš Petříček also highlighted the importance of Visegrad Group cooperation, saying it was the most effective and close-knit alliance within the EU, giving its members more clout in defending their interests.

Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček said that the Czech Republic wanted to introduce new topics when it takes up the Visegrad Group presidency in mid-2019, among others, security matters.