site.bta Decision on Schengen for Bulgaria and Romania Is the Most Important Achievement of Hungarian Presidency – Ambassador Ódor

The December 12 decision of the EU Council to drop land border checks in the Schengen area for Bulgaria and Romania was a historic one and the most important achievement of the Hungarian Presidency, Bálint Ódor, Permanent Ambassador of Hungary to the EU, said in a BTA interview. 

As regards the Western Balkans, the Hungarian Presidency wanted "to really accelerate in a meaningful way the accession process" of the countries of the region, said Ambassador. 

Asked about his wish as diplomat, he said, "Our ultimate goal is peace, particularly an end to the war in Ukraine."

Following is the full interview:

The Hungarian Presidency achieved a historical breakthrough with yesterday's decision on lifting the last checks on Schengen borders of Bulgaria and Romania. How was this possible after almost 14 years of negotiations?

To start with, we are very pleased with this decision. This has been one of the biggest priorities of the Hungarian Presidency. And after 14 years of negotiations, this historic achievement – the agreement - was reached yesterday. And I think that this decision is due to the persistent mediation work of the Hungarian Presidency and also is one of the greatest successеs of the Presidency.  

Maybe it's worth recalling that during the first Hungarian Presidency back to 2011, the full accession of Bulgaria and Romania was already one of our priorities and we did a lot in order to get to fulfill this objective. But we needed more. And we were really honoured to complete this process.  

I think it is very important to see that there were a number of important meetings to prepare this decision. One of those very important meetings took place in Budapest. We organized an informal meeting of interior ministers in Budapest in November, with the participation of the countries concerned, which played a key role in the preparation of the decision. The representatives of Austria, Bulgaria and Romania were there, and then there was a mediation process of the Hungarian Presidency. And then we were able to review the existing concerns in order to find solutions, especially in the field of Border Protection capabilities and the management of illegal migration. 

This was very much needed, the persistent mediation efforts on the Hungarian Presidency, and I really think that this is a historic achievement. 

This achievement is not only significant for Bulgaria and Romania but also for the European Union and, of course, for Hungary.

Would you say that persistence was the secret ingredient for this success?

Persistence was indeed a necessary ingredient, but I would also emphasize the strong commitment of the Hungarian Presidency. It’s notable that back in 2011, the Hungarian Minister of Interior, Mr. Sándor Pintér, played a key role, and he is Interior Minister today, and his commitment was very important.

Would you say this is the best achievement of the Hungarian Presidency, or would you highlight something else?

How I see it, I think this is the most important achievement of the Presidency. However, there are other important achievements.

For example, during this transitional period, we were able to achieve consensus on key policy objectives in areas like migration, justice, and foreign affairs, common agriculture policy, which will guide EU actions for the next five years. And what we were able to do is also to manage shifts in important policy areas like competitiveness. I think it became obvious that this is one of the most important horizontal objectives of the European Union: to strengthen its competitiveness. Secondly, we were able to also manage shifts in the migration policy. And now the focus is put on the external dimension and also on possible innovative solutions in order to tackle irregular migration so. You see that in the October European Council conclusions there are new elements of this approach and then this was adopted by consensus. 

We did a lot of preparation, we had a lot of discussions starting in July already, and then already at the Justice and Foreign Council in October, we saw that there is a new consensus emerging - and in migration policy this is not happening very often but this is now the case. So this is a big achievement, to manage this shift. 

When it comes to the third big area, it is enlargement in the Western Balkans, we wanted to really accelerate in a meaningful way the accession process of the different countries of the region, because we think they have been waiting for this for a long time and that was a unique opportunity in the last couple of months to really make breakthroughs. The first such breakthrough happened with Albania, we were able to have the first aegis cluster (number one) opened. This is after three years, we got we got there. A number of other important steps can still follow in the coming days, we hope. We are planning for other aegis this year. 

We would like to go ahead with Albania, Montenegro. He would also like to advance with Serbia. It's very important that Serbia, the largest country of the region, is also able to go ahead in order to open cluster Three.  

We need to send positive messages to the region with these steps.

Next week, as you know, the EU - Western Balkans Summit will take place here and it will be an important event.

For the very first time in the history, by the way,  there was a consensus among the Member States about the policy objectives for the future years and we put farmers into in the centre of the CAP. 

Going back to Schengen, will your country keep temporary controls on its border with Romania?

For the next couple of months, there will be targeted, in-depth police checks, similar to the current situation between the Austrian and Hungarian borders. It’s not about maintaining border control but ensuring effective and focused measures.

Would you say that Hungary was an honest broker during negotiations on new sanctions with Russia?

I believe Hungary played its role as an honest broker, as it has in other areas throughout the Presidency. The Commission's proposal was put on the agenda, discussed, and agreed upon in COREPER. Formal adoption is planned for next week.

Do you see your country playing a specific role during the upcoming Trump presidency in the US?

The overall intention of all member states is to engage the new administration. This was evident right after the elections during an informal European Council meeting in Budapest. Transatlantic relations will always be crucial. Hungary has a good relationship with President Trump, and I believe we can act as a bridge.

Lastly, as one of the top EU diplomats, what do you wish most to happen in the new year?

Peace, stability, and predictability, which are urgently needed. We see growing conflicts, whether armed or otherwise, and we aim to play a stabilizing role, calming tensions. Our ultimate goal is peace, particularly an end to the war in Ukraine.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.