by Catalina Mihai
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met in Romania on Wednesday, although it was not on the Romanian PM’s agenda, and there was no official announcement.
Romania’s Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu, and the leader of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, also participated in the meeting, according to photos of the event.
“This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”: the words Orban himself posted on his Facebook page, along with a picture with Ciolacu.
The Romanian and Hungarian prime ministers last met in 2010, when Emil Boc held talks with Orban.
This time, the private meeting between the two prime ministers was arranged at the request of the Romanian prime minister, with mediation from UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor, according to Hungarian media.
After Orban posted his message on Facebook, the Government Press Office clarified that the two discussed initiating a joint infrastructure project that would have a significant economic impact on both countries. According to the media, this project is a high-speed train line between Bucharest and Budapest.
Another important topic discussed was Romania’s accession to the visa-free Schengen Area.
If Romania does not enter Schengen in 2023, “the only chance to put the subject on the agenda again in 2024 is the second half of the year when Hungary will hold the EU presidency”, government sources explained to G4Media.ro.
Following the meeting in Bucharest, Orban went to Baile Tu?nad, in Harghita county, to participate at Balvanyos Summer Free University and Student Camp.
Last year, during a speech at the same event, the head of the Hungarian government stated that the world was in a decade of challenges and dangers, expressing his views on the decline of the West.
*first published in: Euractiv.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
