In Novi Sad on Wednesday, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán and Serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vučić visited the Europe Dormitory for students. At a press conference after this event, when asked about Croatia’s attempts to hinder the opening of one of Serbia’s chapters of acquis, Mr. Orbán said that Hungary supports Serbia’s EU membership.
The Prime Minister said that Europe needs Serbia: a look at the map of Europe makes it obvious that Serbia must be within the European Union. It is in Hungary’s interests for Serbia to become an EU Member State as soon as possible, and Hungary will strive to achieve this, he stressed.
Mr. Orbán added that Hungary does not agree with the any attempt to link political issues to the issue of EU membership.
Mr. Vučić thanked Mr. Orbán for his support. He said that Serbia is not begging and will not beg anyone: the most important priority is the country’s development and for it to reach a European standard of living within the next few years.
The Europe Dormitory in Novi Sad was opened last year. Total construction costs were EUR 6 million. The Government of Hungary supported the investment with EUR 1 million.