The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic met with the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Hungary László Kövér in Novi Sad. The meeting was hosted by AP Vojvodina Assembly Speaker Sándor Egeresi.

The traditionally excellent cooperation between the Serbian and Hungarian Parliament was crowned by the signing of the Framework Partnership Agreement between the National Assembly of the Republic of Hungary and the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, by Speaker Djukic-Dejanovic and then Hungarian Parliament Speaker Katalin Szili, and at today’s meeting the officials agreed to continue and expand the cooperation. Kövér believes that there is room to expand the existing agreement which would be signed, after the amendments are incorporated, during the NARS Speaker’s official visit to Budapest on 19 May.

Djukic-Dejanovic said that Vojvodina is a natural bridge for the improvement of cooperation between Serbia and Hungary, which is all the more significant now that Hungary is chairing the European Union. The Serbian Parliament Speaker announced an intensification of the two countries’ parliamentary cooperation, adding that Serbia supports all moves that might improve cooperation with Hungary – from a Mixed Commission, formed by Serbia and Hungary to investigate the crimes against Vojvodina civilians in the 1940s to the amendment of the Hungarian Constitution so as to enable the members of the Serbian ethnic community in Hungary to be represented at the Hungarian Parliament. “Parliamentary cooperation between Serbia and Hungary has reached a high level in the past years, and we are determined to stimulate the development of cooperation between the two countries further”, stressed Djukic-Dejanovic.

Kövér stated that Hungary would do all in its power to speed up the integration of the Western Balkan countries, including Serbia, into the European Union and announced that Serbs could take part in the work of the Hungarian Parliament after 2014. “As a Parliament Speaker I can say that we are ready to make some gestures to further improve our cooperation and relations. Hungary is determined to strengthen relations among the people of Central Europe. That it not a tactic, but a strategy to speed up the European integration of the Western Balkans during our EU presidency”, stressed Kövér.

Egeresi thanked the NARS Speaker for supporting AP Vojvodina in crucial moments like the adoption of the APV Statute and pointed out that animating the administration and further democratisation and regionalisation of Serbia are strategic goals. “Vojvodina plays a key role in strengthening inter-state relations between the Republic of Serbia and Republic of Hungary, as well as in intensifying interparliamentary relations. At the same time, this is a message speaking of the wish to strengthen trust between the people of the two states and the ethnic communities living in them”, said Egeresi.