Hungary is thankful to Germany for its active role in making Europe united and whole again following the German reunification, Foreign Minister János Martonyi said on Monday.

Yesterday, the Hungarian Foreign Minister declared at a conference marking the 40th anniversary of Hungary establishing diplomatic links with the Federal Republic of Germany that Germany had a great responsibility in maintaining and strengthening the unity of Europe. He added that Germans were aware of the fact that - in addition to the current crisis management measures - it was also necessary to think about the future vision of Europe.

The transatlantic alliance's contribution to the world's economic output is on the wane, and the signing of the EU-US free trade agreement is therefore of great importance, János Martonyi claimed.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister pointed out that the principle of equal treatment was "impaired in many respects" within the European Union and therefore Hungary supports the joint German, Danish, Finnish and Dutch proposal to introduce equal criteria when assessing to what extent the various EU member states meet the standards of EU law.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle stated at the conference that it was necessary to understand that even a large country like Germany needed allies in Europe because each European state was in itself too small in a global perspective.

Though they do not have a common border, Germany and Hungary are like neighbours because they have overcome the division of Europe through joint efforts and now they must complete the unification process together, he added.

János Martonyi remarked that forty years did not count as a long period in history, but the past forty years had been exceptionally eventful, and major changes had occurred both in Hungary and Germany, in Europe, and in the world at large. He added that it could already be felt in the first decades of the past 40 years that the division of Germany and Europe was unnatural, and was being maintained artificially.

The two foreign ministers also opened a photo exhibition at Budapest's German language Andrassy University, which presents the past four decades of cooperation through 40 images.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)