Joint Press Release

The President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Giorgia Meloni, and the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, met today in Palazzo Chigi.

Prime Minister Meloni congratulated Prime Minister Orbán on the successful six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, especially on the adoption of the Budapest declaration on competitiveness, as well as the opening of the first chapter of accession talks with Albania and the progress made with Bulgaria and Romania in the expansion of the Schengen area.

Following up on their discussions during the latest visit of Prime Minister Orbán in Rome in June 2024, the two Leaders reiterated their commitment to further advancing the bilateral partnership. They expressed satisfaction with the flourishing commercial relationships (trade flows worth 14 billion euro in 2023), and their willingness to further strengthen investment and trade, especially in the infrastructure and energy sectors. 

The two Heads of Government looked forward to continuing with the intensification of their political dialogue and the mutual coordination on the main international issues. In particular, they discussed the situation in the Middle East, their support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on the principles of the UN Charter and international law, and their commitment to reconstruction in view of the next Ukraine Recovery Conference that will be hosted by Italy in July 2025. 

The two Leaders expressed satisfaction with the excellent level of cooperation achieved in the security and defence fields within NATO, in particular through the support of the Hungarian-led multinational battalion by the Italian Armed Forces (260 soldiers). They confirmed that they will continue to ensure their presence in support for the NATO and EU initiatives for the stabilization of the Western Balkans, and reaffirmed their strong support to the enlargement process of the countries of the region.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to restate the importance of tackling irregular migration. The two Heads of Government called for enhanced cooperation with countries of origin and transit, to address root causes and to fight trafficking and smuggling with a view to preventing loss of lives and irregular departures. Notably, they agreed on the urgent need for an updated legal framework to facilitate, increase and speed up returns from the European Union, with particular focus on strengthening the concept of safe countries of origin. They finally stressed the importance to explore new ways to prevent and counter irregular migration, in line with EU and international law, building up on the path opened by the Italy-Albania agreement.