On 25 January 2011, Minister for National Development Dr Tamás Fellegi attended a meeting organised in Bratislava for the energy ministers of the countries of the Visegrád Co-operation (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic). The most significant questions discussed at the meeting convened by the Slovak Presidency of the V4 included the opportunities of guaranteeing the security of energy supply and the North-South Energy Corridor. The meeting was closed by a statement signed by the V4 ministers.

At the meeting the parties went into details regarding the opportunities of guaranteeing secure energy supply, overviewed the actions required for the interconnection of the regional energy infrastructure, discussed the potential fields of co-operation in R&D for the V4, and tackled on their joint position regarding the European Commission’s Europe 2020 document.

Regarding the talks, Dr Tamás Fellegi pointed out: interconnection of the regional energy infrastructures was a duty of outstanding significance for the countries of the Visegrád Co-operation, which needed to be performed simultaneously with the development of a joint V4 position on the Energy 2020 document, and Roadmap 2050, an energy plan built on the former and containing the long-term energy policy objectives of the European Union up to 2050. Promotion of the related dossiers of the European Union in both themes was also of high priority for the Hungarian Presidency, the minister added.

In connection with the ministers’ signature of the statement laying down the framework of long-term co-operation in every field, Tamás Fellegi emphasised: Hungary welcomed Slovakia’s initiative on drafting a statement, and thanks to the fact that they had had discussions at great length, Hungary was convinced that the document signed was satisfactory for every V4 country and served as a cornerstone of strengthening co-operation between these four states. As a result, in the future the V4 countries will be able to make their voice heard more effectively in energy matters affecting them.

(Ministry of National Development , Department of Communication)