Hungarians and the peoples living in the territory of the former Yugoslavia used to be cut off from each other, the prime minister said. Hungarians therefore built all of their links in an East-West context, whether it be gas, oil or electricity, he added. This separation remained after the breakup of Yugoslavia, making Slovenia the only one of Hungary’s neighbours with whom it had not had its gas, oil or electrical grids linked, Orbán added. He noted that it was his first government in 1999 which had extended the power transmission line to the border and linked it with Croatia’s network. Orbán thanked the Slovenian governments that had helped link the transmission lines and the Slovenian people who had supported the project. He said Hungary needed to do everything in order to link the remaining energy infrastructures with Slovenia.
Orbán said he believed central Europe had a bright future ahead of it. “Though we speak different languages, our life instincts bind us together,” Orbán said.