On Tuesday, Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, met Laszlo Kover, Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary

On Tuesday, Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, met László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary.

The meeting was held in the framework of the official visit of V. Lytvyn to Hungary.

In the beginning of the meeting, L. Kövér referred to it as to "the beginning of a new era" in the parliamentary relations between Ukraine and Hungary. He stated that the contacts between the states were actively developing, although the latest meeting of the Chairmen of the legsialtive bodies was held in 2006.

László Kövér declared that Hungary considered Ukraine as a safe partner for pragmatic, long-termed and mutually beneficial relations.

According to V. Lytvyn, "The relations between Ukraine and Hungary cover almost all the spheres of life." However, the Head of the Ukrainian Parliament stated that they could enter a new phase and become systematic. V. Lytvyn emphasised,  "We are interested in the strengthening of the parliamentary part of our cooperation."

V. Lytvyn deems necessary to establish the parliamentary supervision over the implementation of the agreements by the executive authorities.

According to V. Lytvyn, it is essential to boost the activity of the parliamentary friendship groups that would presently meet to ratify an action plan. Volodymyr Lytvyn attaches great importance to the experience of the Hungarian colleagues in harmonization of the domestic law with the European standards.

V. Lytvyn deems necessary to "extend the bilateral inter-parliamentary relations with the development of mutilateral inter-parliamentary relations in the Danube and Black Sea regions." According to him, Ukraine is interested in the strengthening the parliamentary aspect of multilateral cooperation, "as our state expects to be more involved into the European processes."

The Parties discussed the integration goals of Ukraine, given the presidency of Hungary in the European Union and the presidency of Ukraine in the Council of Europe. According to the Parties, it would facilitate arrangement of the favorable conditions to boost the cooperation between Ukraine and the European institutions.

L. Kövér stated that Hungarian authorities would appreciate "integration of all our neighbors to the European and European-Atlantic institutions."  He assured that Ukraine might expect support on the part of his state in the process of EU integration, since Hungary "may play a role of a catalyzer in this issue."

V. Lytvyn expressed his gratitude to the Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary for the stance of Hungary demonstrated before and during the Ukraine-EU Summit. He declared that its decisions and recommendations adopted on November 22 consolidated the Ukrainian society. "Integration of Ukraine to the European institutions would defuse the controversy over a number of sensitive issues, especially the visa free regime between Ukraine and the EU states", the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stated.

The Parties discussed several other issues.

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada emphasised that Ukraine managed to level the relations with Russia. He hopes that they would be stable and predictable. "It does not contravene the national interests of Russia and our state, so we work towards balancing them. Moreover, the European states are interested in the stability of these relations", V. Lytvyn declared. "We are open to the cooperation in the power-producing sector with both Europe and the Russian Federation."

V. Lytvyn also reminded that the Parliament would presently scrutinize and ratify the Agreement with the Energy Community. He announced that the President of Ukraine had submitted the respective document to the Verkhovna Rada. "Energy issues can not be solved by the state separately from the world community. It is the sphere that Ukraine and Hungary can strengthen cooperation in", the Head of the Ukrainian Parliament stated.

The Parties also discussed the issue of cross-border cooperation and mentioned the development of infrastructure.

C. Lytvyn invited L. Kövér to make an official visit to Ukraine.

After the of the meeting, V. Lytvyn stated, "The past, the present and the future of our nations require more active cooperation between the National Assembly of Hungary and The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. "

V.Lytvyn stated that the contractual-legal base of the Hungarian-Ukrainian relations included 75 applicable acts, 15 documents being adjusted.

V.Lytvyn singled out the humanitarian dimension as another essential aspect of bilateral cooperation. The communities living in Ukraine and Hungary make a core of this dimension. "Both Parties exert their efforts to support a comfortable life of these communities. We also have many plans for the future," the Head of the Parliament declared.  In the result of the latest local elections, 8 Hungary-born citizens of Ukraine were elected to Zakarpattia regional Council. More than 400 Hungary-born Ukrainians were elected to other local self-government bodies.  

As it was reported, on November 23-24, Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, stays with a working visit in the Republic of Hungary. V.M.Lytvyn will meet Pál Schmitt, President of the Republic of Hungary, Semjen Zsolt, Deputy Prime-Minister of the Republic of Hungary and representatives of the Ukrainian community of Hungary.