Now the Central European Initiative (CEI) must mainly focus on accelerating EU enlargement in the Western Balkan region and on the investment projects required for energy security in Eastern Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Monday at the meeting of CEI Foreign Ministers in Ohrid, Macedonia.
In his interview given to an MTI correspondent, he pointed out that accelerated EU integration in the Western Balkan region will not only bring about economic growth but could also contribute to “containing the flow of foreign fighters recruited for the Islamic State” and help manage the migration pressure on the European Union.
To this end, Péter Szijjártó suggested accelerating EU accession negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro and starting accession talks with Macedonia as “it is unacceptable that they have not started yet despite six proposals by the European Commission”.
Péter Szijjártó said that the CEI Foreign Ministers mostly agreed that the “European perspective should be maintained for the Western Balkans”, and they were only divided over the pace of such process.
Energy security is still the hottest topic in Central Europe, the Minister said, adding that the region’s gas supply is not only an issue of energy but also of national security. As plans for Nabucco and the Southern Stream have been cancelled, we need to find other ways to ensure energy security for Central Europe, he said.
He explained that in order to establish energy security, the pipeline networks of the countries concerned must be interconnected, and investments must be made to facilitate reverse-flow gas transport. Furthermore, “there is a need for a large strategic gas pipeline investment in the region, a high-capacity pipeline to cross the Western Balkans and Central Europe and to ensure energy security”.
The Foreign Ministers were also in agreement on energy security, Mr. Szijjártó said, adding that as each country is looking for its own possibilities, the different implementation plans give rise to disputes. He thinks competing alternatives are no problem as the point is to help each country avoid a losing position where energy security is not ensured.
Mr. Szijjártó also met Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ivica Dacic, discussing the modernisation of the Belgrade-Budapest railway, which will be one of the most important issues of the Hungarian-Serbian government summit to be held in Budapest in July, the Minister said. Feasibility studies were prepared by both the Hungarian and the Serbian party, and the Chinese party has collapsed them to a single study, Mr. Szijjártó explained. He noted that working groups of the three governments will meet in Budapest mid-July to discuss financial matters.