Good afternoon everyone, thank you for being here. I am delighted to welcome the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, to Rome today. As you know, Hungary will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July.

Prime Minister Orbán is currently visiting major European capitals to outline the Hungarian Presidency’s priorities. I therefore wish to thank Viktor for the attention he has paid to Italy with this visit, and I would also like to say that I very much appreciate and share the priorities chosen by the Hungarian Presidency, starting with the decision, which was not a given, to include among said priorities a challenge that I myself have cited on several occasions, with this also being a matter for the European Union: the demographic challenge.

In my view, this is a prerequisite for building a strong Europe, a Europe that is able to once again play a leading role in the world. Declining birth rates are a problem for the entire continent. No European nation is currently reaching the so-called ‘replacement rate’, which is the minimum number of children per woman needed to guarantee population continuity. If we do not address this challenge together and manage to reverse this trend over the medium and long term, our economic systems, our social systems and our welfare systems will become unsustainable. Hence why we have always thought it necessary to work together on this issue. I am very pleased that the Hungarian rotating presidency has decided to include this issue among its priorities.

During our meeting, we of course also talked about the excellent state of bilateral relations between Rome and Budapest. Hungary is an important European partner, and a precious ally for us within NATO too. I am very satisfied with both the intensification of our political dialogue and the strengthening of our economic relations over the last months. Italian companies are looking to the Hungarian market with increasing interest, in terms of exports and in terms of investments. As you know, Italy supports the NATO multinational battalion under Hungarian leadership. We are satisfied with the excellent level of cooperation reached especially in the Balkans; both Italy and Hungary consider this region strategic and it is no coincidence that one of the main focus areas of the Hungarian Presidency regards precisely the Western Balkans and the enlargement process which, as you know, I like to call reunification. Italy and Hungary are perfectly aligned on this. 

We also discussed the conflict in Ukraine. We are well aware that our positions do not always coincide, which is precisely why I want to say how much I appreciate the position Hungary has shown until now, within both the European Union and NATO, enabling the other Member States and allies to make very important decisions even when it did not completely agree.
With Viktor, we have in any case reiterated our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. We are also paying a great deal of attention to its reconstruction together, because the best way to look beyond the war is to imagine a rebuilt Ukraine that can prosper and grow. As you know, Italy is very committed to this: we will be organising the ‘Ukraine Recovery Conference’ here in 2025, so this was something else we talked about.

We also share the Hungarian programme’s focus on competitiveness, which is another key priority proposed by the rotating presidency. Clearly, European competitiveness but also European defence, and Hungary’s proposal for a new approach regarding agricultural policies, and attention to cohesion policies; in our view, these are also issues that the continent’s citizens gave particular indications on at the recent European elections.

During our meeting, we also went into Hungary’s priorities for action regarding the management of migration flows. This is another matter we agree on. We agree on the fact that the new European approach that has been developed over recent months – also thanks to Italy’s impetus – needs to be consolidated. This approach is based on a number of pillars: defending the European Union’s external borders; combating mass illegal immigration; fighting traffickers; the commitment to build a new cooperation and partnership model with countries of origin and of transit that benefits everyone, clearly also to address the root causes of migration. However, with regard to immigration, we also agree on the fact that it is important to explore new approaches and new innovative solutions as well. I would like to mention, as I have before, the Italy-Albania protocol which, as you know, also became the subject of a letter signed by the majority of EU Member States, asking the European Commission to pursue this approach in the future too, calling it a solution to be followed.

In short, there are many issues on which we are in agreement, as is often the case. I wish to thank the Hungarian Prime Minister for this visit. We will of course be seeing each other again in a few days’ time: the first European Council meeting of the new legislative term has been called for 27 and 28 June, when we will have the opportunity to discuss the strategic agenda and therefore also, hopefully, what direction should be given to the European Union over the coming years.

In closing, I would like to wish Prime Minister Orbán the best of luck for the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, and I would of course also like to reiterate Italy’s full support for these important months that lie ahead. Thank you.

[Courtesy translation]