The accession of the Western Balkans, via Central Europe, to the European Union is one of the most important questions of the future, and Hungary will make every effort to enable the Western Balkans, including Kosovo, to find its way to and integrate into the EU within the shortest possible time, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at the business forum held on Wednesday.
In the Prime Minister’s opinion, there are enormous business opportunities on the eastern-south-eastern periphery of Europe, and Kosovo should be enabled to make progress in its accession to the community at least at the same speed as was made possible by the EU for the other states established in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
We believe, he said, that the main reason for the failure of European crisis management lies in that European leaders tend to follow events, rather than dictate them; it is the markets that take the lead and we merely respond to the operation of the markets. This must change, Viktor Orbán believes, who also reminded his audience that, in previous years, Hungary, too, fell victim to the false illusion that there may be economic growth without work, there will always be cheap money available and we should not be afraid of increasing our state debt. We must learn from these mistakes, and must adopt a new approach.
We must relentlessly fight against debt, and the deficit of the budget must be kept under control. Growth and welfare that are based on credit and debt destroy the nation, and the path that Hungary pursued in the past must be abandoned, the Prime Minister stressed.
External financial dependence cannot restrict the State from pursuing a specific economic policy that is tailored to its own needs. Naturally, this does not mean that Hungary is able to sustain itself without external resources; it is important, however, that it should be able to obtain funds from as many sources as possible, including internal savings, tax revenues, the International Monetary Fund and eastern partners. If the ratio between internal savings and external dependence is upset, it is impossible to pursue a sovereign economic policy. During the post-crisis period, it will be key whether we shall be able to correctly identify the segments and the extent in and to which the State should maintain a presence in the economy.
Kosovo is a young and stable country, and there are good investment opportunities in Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo said. He underlined that Kosovo is a success story, and has managed to stay on its feet in spite of the economic crisis. Kosovo has maintained a 5 per cent growth rate in recent years. Hashim Thaci pointed out that Kosovo is pursuing a favourable fiscal policy, privatisation is making good progress and the development of the private sector in Kosovo is a top priority. Kosovo entered into favourable agreements with the EU and the United States, succeeded in improving its fiscal system and has good investment opportunities to offer. Major developments have already been implemented in Kosovo’s road network, and there are good opportunities in mining and in the energy sector as well, he said.
(kormany.hu)
