“What we need is a strong and successful Europe,” President Katalin Novák said after talks with Gérard Larcher, president of the French Senate, in Paris on Friday. Held ahead of the International Peace Forum, the bilateral talks focused on topical challenges, Novák said on Facebook. After their talks, Novák and Larcher issued a joint statement, Novák’s office told MTI. The meeting provided an opportunity to review topical EU-related and bilateral issues, the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the impacts of the war, the office said in a statement. Novák expressed hope that the two countries would in future deepen their relations in the spirit of pragmatism. Larcher highlighted Hungary’s “unique mission” within the European Union and the importance of relations between the two countries.
Novák also held talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, whom she referred to as “an old friend, a strategic partner”, and said she was looking forward to “welcoming Serbia as a European Union member”.