In statements after a meeting here on Thursday, Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas and his Hungarian counterpart Janos Martonyi said that they had agreed on Greece's proposals for an EU-Turkey summit in June, as well as on preparing for a summit meeting of European and Balkan states in 2014 - when Greece holds the EU rotating presidency - in order to promote the European accession prospects of the western Balkans...
The two ministers also expressed agreement with efforts to set up a permanent crisis resolution mechanism for EU member-states and referred to cooperation between Greece and Hungary on issues concerning the common European future.
Concerning the issue of financial governance, Martonyi pointed out that this would be enhanced through the creation of a system that would take form during the six months that Hungary took over the rotating EU presidency, starting in January.
"As countries of medium size we must insist that everything is done with respect for the spirit and the letter of the Treaty and with respect for the principle of equal treatment," the Hungarian minister said.
Regarding the Balkans, Droutsas and Martonyi both emphasised the importance of the future accession of western Balkan countries as a lever for resolving the problems troubling the region.
"We envisage a summit of all Balkan countries with the EU, a 'Thessaloniki -2' that will give these countries a decisive political push toward the EU," Droutsas said.
Concerning Turkey's accession prospects and the possibility of an EU-Turkey summit, Droutsas noted that European countries all agreed on the positive aspects of Turkey's EU course but "we also agree that this has now reached a point that might be termed problematic, in the sense that the negotiations are not progressing in the way we would like, the negotiations are not proceeding at a fast pace, Turkey is not implementing the obligations it has undertaken and, on the other hand, the promise that was given to Turkey for full accession has grown dim."
"On the one hand, the EU's commitment to accept Turkey as a full member-state and, on the other hand, to reaffirm the obligations that Turkey has undertaken toward its EU partners," he said.
He emphasised the need to give a new and real momentum to a process that now seemed to be reaching a point of stagnation.
During statements to reporters, Markonyi and Droutsas referred to the close cooperation between Greece and Hungary on all levels and the need to further enhance bilateral relations.
They pointed to margins for further developing cooperation in the areas of energy, tourism and transport with emphasis on the "Danube Strategy".
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