Szijjarto confirms Hungarian-Slovak alliance

Hungary and Slovakia are not only neighbours but allies, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday after talks with Miroslav Lajcak, his Slovak counterpart. "Over the past few years, both countries have worked hard to achieve this reality," he told a joint press conference in Budapest. Cooperation between the two countries on issues regarding the future of the European Union is robust, he said, adding that both Hungary and Slovakia have stood up to illegal migration and the introduction of mandatory resettlement quotas. In the debates over the EU's 2021-2027 financial cycle, both countries claim that central European nations have a right to EU cohesion funds under the EU treaties, he said. Currently Slovakia holds the rolling presidency of the Visegrad Group, the closest and most effective alliance within the EU, he said. Despite repeated attempts to break this, cooperation remains close, and in the past few weeks alone V4 members have demonstrated their solidarity many times, he added.