Securing Europe’s energy independence and peace on the continent are urgent aims, President Katalin Novák said on Thursday after a meeting of the Arraiolos Group in Malta. Also, work must be done to preserve the clout of the bloc and the western system of alliances on the world stage, she added.
Novák told a press conference that Hungary supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as bringing war criminals to justice before an international court. Further, the war must be brought to an end as quickly as possible, she added at the informal meeting of the heads of European Union member states.
She said participants condemned all activities that threaten the infrastructure of any European Union member state, especially the energy network. Sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines is cause for particular concern, Novák said, and she called for an effective and exhaustive investigation with the aim of preventing any similar attack in the future.
Novák said steps must be taken to bring the war to an end, and even if the countries failed to agree on how to achieve this, there were several proposals on which they could reach a consensus. “We must preserve the community power of Europe and the system of western allies, we must preserve our common values and we must protect our peoples,” she said. Novák said Europe must not be allowed to fall to its knees because in such a situation it would be unable to demonstrate power. “We must stand together as the single voice of Europe,” she said.
Novák said that in their capacity as EU presidents, they perfectly understood that the EU was “the largest peace project in history”, and Hungary continues to be willing to make every effort to achieve peace without delay.