Speaking in Ljubljana on Monday, House Speaker László Kövér said: “Slovenia is a neighbor with which Hungary has not had unresolved issues for a very long time. Each time, talks with Slovenia could focus on opportunities to make even more progress and how to ensure the survival of our ethnic communities.”
The house speaker met with Urška Klakočar Zupančič, his Slovenian counterpart, to discuss bilateral issues with special regard to ethnic Slovenes in Hungary and Slovenia Hungarians. Concerning the European Union, the two speakers agreed that the bloc’s enlargement in the Western Balkans must be accelerated. “We live in central Europe, in a small community of states, with shared security and economic interests,” Kövér said. Slovenia is “not only a good neighbour and friend, an equal partner, but a member of the central European community that has contributed to the region’s increased weight in the EU,” he said. In terms of bilateral economic cooperation, Kövér highlighted the cross-border Pince-Cirkovce electric transmission line, adding that the recently inaugurated interconnector “is a symbol of cooperative efforts to link the region’s infrastructure”. Kövér also met State Council President Marko Lotrica and was also scheduled to hold talks with President Nataša Pirc Musar.