The investment climate and opportunities for foreign businesses were among the main issues the Hungarian Foreign Ministry's Deputy State Secretary discussed in Paris on Thursday.

In his talks at the President’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gergely Prőhle discussed what business opportunities are available to France in cooperation with Central European countries and what the French reaction was to the commitment of the Visegrad countries to the EU Eastern Partnership Program. The French government has a firm position concerning the Eastern Partnership Program: the objective is to create stable and democratic conditions in the Eastern European region without necessarily guaranteeing the perspective of EU membership for the countries of the region.

Deputy State Secretary Gergely Prőhle pointed out that he had received congratulations from his French partners on the occasion of the European Commission's proposal to lift the Excess Deficit Procedure against Hungary.
"I indicated to my partners that although there has been criticism expressed over treatment of certain French companies in Hungary, the eagerness of French companies to continue come and invest in the country reflects the view that our business environment is probably not that unfavourable," Gergely Prőhle said.

Following the meetings, the Hungarian Deputy State Secretary took part in the conference organised by the Hungarian Embassy in the French Senate with the aim of making economic, political, constitutional and cultural developments in Hungary more understandable to the French public.
Gergely Prőhle also held meetings with Richard Prasquier, the President of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF), and with Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris and President of the French Episcopal Conference.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)