We knew that there would be huge interest from the UK in Hungary in the run-up to their EU Presidency in the first half of next year. And so it is proving. The focus started, I suppose, with the highly successful visit of Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in March. But the first high-level visit to focus on policy, with the Presidency very much in mind, was by our Europe Minister David Lidington MP back in July. Now the pace is accelerating as we move towards 1 January 2011, with many high-level Ministerial and official visits in both directions planned over the next 2 months.
Nowadays a lot of bilateral contact takes place in the context of multilateral gatherings – in the UN, NATO and EU for instance. But that is not entirely a substitiute for visits to each others countries, for in-depth discussions and negotiations on a whole range of issues between friends and partners. We share views and interests in many more areas than where we differ, but where we differ it is important to share opinions and understand each other too. The UK wants to know where Hungary will put the emphasis during their Presidency; how they will manage the logistics; and who will be dealing with which issues. We are eagerly awaiting the programme for this hectic 6-month period as well as Hungary’s formal statement about its Presidency priorities.
To manage this business, and especially the administrative arrangments for these many visits, we have expanded our policy team for the lead-up to and duration of the Presidency. There is also an increased demand for information about Hungary – on what is happening in the economy and politics as well as the policies likely to be adopted. There are meetings in Whitehall to discuss what Hungary expects from us and how we can help. One way is by loaning experts to the Presidency to cover areas where perhaps the UK has more experience – our secondees are now progressively getting into place. This is of course Hungary’s first stint in the Presidency – it’s a hugely challenging task and where we can usefully assist we stand ready to help our friends.
To be continued…