The European Union needs stable and prosperous regions within and outside its borders in order to successfully cope with the difficulties of the economic crisis – said Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zsolt Németh, on Tuesday.

State Secretary Németh inaugurated the Hungarian Presidency of the Central European Initiative (CEI) for 2013 at the meeting of CEI national coordinators in Budapest. He stressed in his opening remarks that it was the objective of the Hungarian Presidency to bolster economic cooperation in Central Europe, to create a common position on EU issues, and to make the CEI more prominent globally.

He pointed out that it was important to take advantage of the opportunities in the region, such as well-qualified labour and agricultural capacities. The Hungarian State Secretary added that, due to its geopolitical location, Central Europe is suitable for becoming an engine of economic growth, and so for contributing to the stability, as well as the social and economic prosperity, of the entire European continent.

He emphasized that those CEI member states which had not yet joined the EU cannot be left out of development. He noted that Hungary was honoured to take over the Presidency of „the largest and oldest regional organization” and would do its best to renew and intensify the work of the CEI.

Today, the CEI has 18 members: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)