Peter Pellegrini, the Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia, the legislative body of our northern neighbour, was recently on a diplomatic visit in Budapest, Hungary. He has met with all major dignitaries of the country, including his Hungarian counterpart, House Speaker László Kövér, the newly inaugurated President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as well.

On Monday, 11 March, Speaker Pellegrini held a press conference in Budapest, where he told reporters that his own and his current host country are in agreement on major issues.

‘As a small country, Slovakia will never consent to removing the veto right of EU Member States,’

he assured his country’s support on an issue that is greatly important to Hungarians. He then went on to point out that he and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary have recently inaugurated a bridge which serves as a brand new crossing point between Hungary and Slovakia; and the two countries have built joint gas and electricity infrastructure as well.

As for additional points of agreement, Speaker Pellegrini also stressed that just like Hungary, Slovakia is also firmly against illegal immigration and will never be a ‘transit country’. It is also not agreeing to send troops to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion, as President Emmanuel Macron of France has suggested recently.

Speaker Pellegrini is a member of the centre-left Voice – Social Democracy party and has been serving as Speaker of the Council since October 2023. Between 2018 and 2020, he served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia.

After the meeting, Speaker Kövér from Hungary’s National Assembly echoed similar sentiments.

He stressed the importance of cooperation between EU Member States. He also spoke out against illegal migration into Europe, and called for the speeding up of the accession process for West Balkan nations.

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