| Mr Balázs participated in the informal, “Gymnich”-type talks of European Union Foreign Ministers in Cordoba on March 5-6. They discussed the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS), as well as three foreign policy issues: the Western Balkans region’s approximation to the EU, closer ties with the world’s fastest-developing economies and global partners, and the launch of new EU initiatives in the Middle East. As regards the European External Action Service, participants were in agreement that the EU is creating the world’s largest diplomatic network and the missions in each country should have an overview of the EU’s entire set of relations. They stated that the timetable for establishing the European External Action Service should be reviewed at the next Foreign Affairs Council meeting on March 22. They agreed that the EU's global role should be reinforced; the Brussels centre of the Service should be ready to assess and manage any kind of crisis swiftly; a further step will be to devise plans on how to replace diplomatic representations of individual Member States with this network. In his address Péter Balázs emphasised that Member States should participate in the formation of the new Service, with particular regard to geographical proportions. The actual setup should be a well-considered process, attentive to details, he added. Catherine Ashton, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who attended the meeting for the first time, was sceptical whether the EEAS would be operational by the April 2010 deadline set out in the Lisbon Treaty, considering that its bylaws must also be approved by the European Commission and the European Parliament. On the subject of the Western Balkans, Mr Balázs noted that Hungary was among the first to look at this region with a fresh perspective and had organised the meeting of foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four (V4) and Western Balkans countries last October. Several additional initiatives have emerged since: “There is an Austrian-Greek proposal, which has set the target of 2014, the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WWI, as the deadline for making progress. There will be conference organised by Croatia and Slovenia in March and an Italian-Spanish initiative was just put on the table of a large-scale conference in Sarajevo in June,” the Foreign Minister added. The strategy on the Western Balkans must be revisited since what is at a stake here is the completion of the state-building and peacemaking process under way for the last 15 years. He added the importance of reinforcing regional approaches and regional cooperation. As regards the EU’s relations with the world’s fastest-developing economies, the Foreign Ministers focused discussions on India, China and Brazil, stressing the necessity of long-term strategies. Mr Balázs proposed that EU meetings with these countries be given more substance and the EU’s presence in the G-20 grouping be strengthened. On the subject of the Middle East, the EU foreign ministers confirmed their commitment to the two-state concept. They decided that the EU should start new initiatives: to deepen existing ties with Israel and to raise the relations with the Palestinian Authority onto ambassadorial level. In his address Mr Balázs emphasised – recalling the consequences of Kosovo’s recognition – that new Middle East initiatives should enjoy the support of the entire Union.
The head of Hungarian diplomacy met Antonio Milososki, the Macedonian Foreign Minister, for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Cordoba meeting - on the latter's request. Representing a candidate country Mr Milososki was also present at working lunch of the ministers. He expressed gratitude for Hungary’s steadfast support for his country’s Euro-Atlantic integration and for initiatives targeting the region. Mr Balázs gave a briefing on the V4 energy summit, the Danube Summit as well as the extended V4 meeting of foreign ministers dedicated to Eastern Partnership. Considering that the EU’s agenda is currently driven by the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty and that enlargement is not a priority, Mr Balázs emphasised the need to resolve the Macedonian name dispute. In FM Milososki’s view the prolonged name dispute could hinder Euro-Atlantic integration and this threatens the region’s stability. Mr Balázs reiterated that Hungary continuously calls attention to the importance of the region’s stability. Further, he underscored the importance of a regional approach and gave a briefing on our future initiatives for dual tripartite – Greek-Hungarian-Serbian and a Croatian-Hungarian-Serbian – meetings in the region. (March 6, 2010) |