On 14 December 2010 Pál Völner, Secretary of State for the Hungarian Minister of National Development, held talks in Paris with Thierry Mariani, Secretary of State for Transport for the French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, to discuss the programme and priorities of the Hungarian EU presidency.

Among the most important endeavours, Mr Völner mentioned the commencement of outlining a transport policy for the European Union for the period between 2010 and 2020, review of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T), the promotion of legislation to facilitate completion of the Community rail market, and further discussions over the future of inland shipping.

In preparation for the tasks of the Hungarian presidency, “Tour de capitales” meetings will be organised to familiarise the heads of counterparty ministries of the Member States with one another and allow consultation on the priorities. During his visit the Secretary of State also prepared the talks due to take place in Paris in January 2011 between Minister of National Development Tamás Fellegi and the French fellow ministers.

Ministry of National Development

Communications Department

Budapest, 16 December, 2010