On 7 December, a delegation of the Hungarian Parliament’s Committee on European Affairs, headed by its chairman, Matyas Eorsi, met at Assembly House a delegation of the Committee on Inter-Ethnic Relations, comprised of deputies Zeljko Tomic and Istvan Ispanovic.
The Hungarian visitors said that their country saw Serbia’s accession to all European integrations as soon as possible a priority, as well as that Hungary’s experiences could be very useful to Serbia in that process, adding they were ready to contribute to accelerate it, and stressing their experiences could help Serbia avoid mistakes made by Hungary. The visiting delegation said that there was general consensus in Serbia on joining European integrations, and that this fact should be used as much as possible; Hungary would, in their words, ‘do all to help Serbia in this.’

Serbian deputies thanked their Hungarian counterparts for their offers of assistance, adding that Hungary’s support in having stabilisation and association negotiations continue immediately after parliamentary elections in Serbia would be very valuable.
The talks also touched on the issue of the position of ethnic minorities in Hungary and Serbia. Members of the Committee on Inter-Ethnic Relations reiterated the achievements made over the past several years in the field of inter-ethnic relations, including amendments to the Act on the Election of Deputies, the adoption of the Charter of Human and Minority Rights, the formation of the Serbian Government’s Ethnic Minority Council, and the passage of the new Constitution. The deputies also cited statutory provisions facilitating representation of minorities in the new convocation of the National Assembly, adding that they were convinced that this would indeed happen after the January 2007 elections. The Hungarian MPs welcomed these provisions, adding that Hungary had not been successful in having ethnic minority representation in the Hungarian parliament.