The Hungarian Presidency continues to strive to conclude discussions with Croatia by June, Minister of State for EU Affairs, Enikő Győri said, reassuring her hosts in Zagreb, on 28 April 2011; after conducting discussions with Chief Advisor to the Croatian Prime Minister Davor Stier and Foreign State Secretary for European Integration Andrej Plenković.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs invites tenders for the provision of services related to the receipt of applications for Schengen visas in New Delhi. Deadline for submission of tenders: 11 May, 2011.
Stepping up fast-start climate financing commitments – taking action on adaptation needs of the most vulnerable countries.
The Hungarian Presidency welcomes the European Parliament’s (EP) commitment to the single market, Minister of State for EU Affairs, Enikő Győri, announced in the debate at the EP’s plenary meeting, held in Strasbourg on 6 April 2011. According to the Ms Győri, EU institutions have to give a joint political incentive to the internal market.
The European Parliament’s (EP) evaluation on the accession process of both Iceland and Macedonia is well balanced, Minister of State for EU Affairs, Enikő Győri, said at the EP’s plenary meeting on 6 April 2011, in Strasbourg. However, in the case of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, she urged for greater efforts, and promoted the start of accession negotiations.
The European Commission presented its views on a feasible European framework for the national Roma strategies on 5 March 2011, in Strasbourg. At the plenary session, the Presidency welcomed the Commission’s proposal. Beforehand, the European Parliament expressed its opinion on the topic as well.
“We are pleased with the first three months of the Hungarian Presidency and are preparing for the next three months with unchanged commitment and dynamism,” Minister of State for EU affairs, Enikő Győri, said receiving a delegation of the European Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly, led by Deputy Chairman, Gérard Voisin, during a visit to Budapest on 4 April 2011.
Created exclusively for this semester, the publications „Europe in Budapest – a guide to its many cultures” and „Danube Bridges – from the Black Forest to the Black Sea” were presented by Minister of State for EU Affairs, Enikő Győri, in Tiger Wine Bar, one of the restaurants in Budapest functioning as the Presidency’s wine bar.
The European Union regards the mutiny of 1 April 2010 in Guinea-Bissau and the subsequent appointment of its main instigators to high-ranking posts in the military hierarchy, as a breach of essential elements of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement. Therefore, the European Union terminated its common security and defence policy support mission, and as a precautionary measure, suspended some of its development cooperation activities. The EU invited the Government of Guinea-Bissau, to engage in consultations under Article 96, of the Cotonou Agreement on actions necessary for the country to resume operations in compliance with the Partnership Agreement’s principles, respecting human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law.
The consensus on the package of six legislative proposals aimed at creating common economic governance reached at the Council meeting at the end of March, the progress associated with the future of cohesion policy, the Common Agricultural Policy, energy policy, the Roma strategy and the Danube Region strategy – these can be considered as the greatest achievements during the first three months of the Hungarian EU Presidency. Following you can read a short mid-term review of the professional achievements.
The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hungarian Ministry of Defence welcome President Hamid Karzai’s announcement on the start of the first phase for transition to Afghan security lead scheduled to begin in July 2011 in selected areas of the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary welcomes that according to the agreement between the Cuban Roman Catholic Church and the Cuban Government the last two members of the 75 Cuban opposition activists, who had been arrested and sentenced to long prison term in 2003, have regained their freedom. We were very pleased to learn that on the 12th of March Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet also could return to his home, whom Viktor Orbán took under his personal patronage in 2007, and recently as Prime Minister of Hungary nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Speech by Minister of State Zsolt Németh
At its March 2, 2011 session, the Government of the Republic of Hungary decided to set up the Tom Lantos Institute. The mission of the Institute bearing the name of the late Hungarian-American representative will be to support human and minority rights in Central Europe. The opening of the Institute is scheduled to take place in the summer of 2011, and is to be attended by high-level international delegations and visitors.
János Hóvári, Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited the State of Kuwait as special envoy of President Pál Schmitt on February 26, 2011, and participated in the large-scale celebrations commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Independence of Kuwait as well as the 20th anniversary of its liberation from the Iraqi occupation. The events were attended by more than twenty rulers and presidents, along with numerous other statesmen from over 57 countries, incumbent and previous leaders of the different international organizations, as well as the commandants of the coalition forces of the military operations in 1991.
In the presence of Ambassadors accredited from the region to Hungary, János Hóvári opened the exhibition „FOURTEEN CENTURIES OF COINS FROM THE ISLAMIC WORLD” in the Helikon Castle Museum in Keszthely.
Hungary as member of the European Union and as the current President of the Council of the European Union welcomes the peaceful and genuine execution of the referendum on self-determination for Southern Sudan.
The official English translation of the Hungarian media law was finished yesterday and was sent by e-mail to every Hungarian diplomatic mission abroad and foreign missions accredited to Hungary.
The Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran accredited to the UN in Vienna addressed a letter to several representations in Vienna, among them the delegation of the European Union and the Hungarian delegation, inviting the addressees to participate in a visit to unspecified Iranian nuclear facilities in January 2011.
The leadership and diplomatic corps of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary was shocked to hear the sad news of the death of Presidential special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke.