Fico: Sovereign Positions of Hungary and Slovakia Could Help V4 Cooperation

Esztergom/Bratislava, 28 September (TASR-correspondent) - Sovereign positions of Hungary and Slovakia would be suitable for a significant strengthening of cooperation within the Visegrad Four (V4-Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland), which is currently presided over by Hungary, Slovak Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said in a speech he delivered on Sunday in Esztergom, northern Hungary, to mark the 135th anniversary of the construction of the Maria Valeria Bridge, TASR has learnt from its Budapest correspondent. Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban was also present in the event and gave a speech, too. Fico noted that he has never been interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, however, he expressed his hope that "there might soon be three V4 premiers with the same opinion on certain issues". "We offer cooperation primarily in the issues of safe energy supplies for our countries. No one should tell us where we should get oil and gas from, as according to international law, it is a sovereign country that decides on its energy mix. I share the opinion of the Hungarian premier that the political ideological decision to completely cut off Europe from these Russian fuel supplies won't only harm Hungary and Slovakia the most, but will significantly harm the entire European Union as well," stressed Fico. The second serious issue is illegal migration, stated Fico, who praised steps taken in this regard by the Hungarian government, as they "have helped the whole of Europe". Hungary has been presiding over the V4 since July 1 for the seventh time. The bridge between the Slovak town of Sturovo and the Hungarian town of Esztergom was blown up during the World War I, to be rebuilt and blown up again after WWII. The idea of ​​rebuilding it was revived after November 1989 (Velvet Revolution). The project became part of Mikulas Dzurinda's government manifesto from 1998. The reconstructed Maria Valeria Bridge over the Danube River was ceremonially reopened on October 11, 2001 in the attendance of then premiers Mikulas Dzurinda and Viktor Orban, as well as then-EU commissioner for enlargement Gunter Verheugen. ko