Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks with Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in Bucharest on 20 December 2024. Following the bilateral talks, the Hungarian Prime Minister stressed that the Hungarian EU Presidency is coming to an extremely successful conclusion, especially due to Romania’s accession to the Schengen area.
The two leaders agreed in July that their common goal, Romania’s entry into the Schengen area, could be achieved as a result of a new political action, which also underlined the historical common destiny between the two countries and the need for mutual successes. “We can conclude an extremely successful Hungarian EU Presidency,” said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
He recalled that “in July, the Prime Minister of Romania was so kind to receive me here, and we agreed then that we would proceed according to a common plan during the Hungarian EU Presidency, and we set the goal of Romania’s accession to the Schengen area during the Hungarian Presidency.” "You need the success of your neighbor to be successful too. We Hungarians have long been interested in Romania being in the same zone with us. Today, there are 12 road border crossings between Romania and Hungary. From January 1, this number will increase to 22.” Here is the opportunity to open a new chapter in Hungarian-Romanian relations. We now have the basis for trust, as we have a common success.
Moreover, Hungary is an important country for Romania from an economic point of view, and Romania is extremely important for Hungary from an energy security point of view.” “Last year, we were able to purchase 1.75 billion cubic meters of gas through you, and this, together with the gas coming through South Stream, essentially solved Hungary’s energy needs.
For this reason, I would like to thank the Prime Minister. Moreover, Romania is a reliable transit country from the Hungarian point of view in terms of the transport of nuclear fuel. And the more the energy cooperation operating through Ukraine is paralyzed, the more important the cooperation with Romania becomes for Hungary,” emphasized the Hungarian Prime Minister. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu thanked his Hungarian partner for managing to bring about Romania’s accession to the Schengen area during the Hungarian EU presidency.
"This would not have been possible if Hungary had not held the presidency," the Romanian Prime Minister stated.
