Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi gave an interview to MTI Hungarian News Agency. The Minister highlighted that Hungary has made major progress in the implementation of its foreign policy goals amidst adverse external conditions and “deep and fundamental” changes in the country since Viktor Orban’s government came to office two years ago.

Martonyi said that the economic crisis had been worse than expected and it also had an impact on foreign policy efforts.

Criticisms and “unfounded exaggerations, distortions and accusations” concerning the new basic law and several two-thirds cardinal laws were another factor influencing foreign policy, Martonyi said in the interview which is part of the MTI’s series on the government’s first two years in office.

He said that in its relations with neighboring countries, Hungary aimed to represent its interests with a value-based policy. By amending and enforcing the citizenship law Hungary has fulfilled an important objective of its nation policy, he said, adding that one major achievement was to have dispersed concerns and criticism over its fast-track citizenship law. Martonyi said he would continue dialogue with Slovakia on resolving disputes over the issue.

He said that Hungary had developed excellent relations with Serbia in the past two years and relations with Romania had become better than during the 20th century.

The minister noted that some “Hungarian affairs”, including the media law, the new constitution and “fast-track laws”, had come under the spotlight of the foreign media over the past two years, though the EU itself had made no complaints about the constitution, even if reference to Christian roots may hurt the political and ideological preferences of some.

Although these affairs have not made matters easy for Hungarian diplomats, the “ongoing major transformation not only bears fruit but also carries a price,” Martonyi said, adding that Hungary had been in a deep economic, political and institutional crisis when Orban’s government came to power.

Martonyi said one of Hungary’s priorities was that key integration policies like EU’s cohesion and common agricultural policy should function properly.

He voiced hope that from the spring of 2013, Hungary would no longer be subject to the EU’s excessive deficit procedure. To attain this goal, he said, the deficit should be kept under 3 percent of GDP for a year.

Martonyi called the policy of global opening a success story of Hungarian diplomacy, and stressed the need to strengthen economic, educational and cultural ties in this context.

(MTI, Ministry of Foreign Affairs)