Speaking in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio Saturday, Hungarian Ambassador in Sofia Judith Lang listed the priorities of her country's presidency of the European Union. Following are highlights of the interview.

Europe is fighting the crisis. In this sense, the most important priority of the Hungarian presidency of the EU will be consolidation of the economy assuring continuity as the Spanish presidency and the Belgian one before Hungary took over followed the same line, Lang said. New jobs should be created and employment should be increased.

Serious efforts should be made to cope with the crisis in the euro zone and to achieve Europe's sustainable development. The implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy will be of primary importance for the accomplishment of these goals, Lang observed.

"We would like to contribute to building a stronger Europe and to achieve it we will focus on the enhancement of cohesion. The energy policy and the common agricultural policy, as well as the Danube strategy are very important in this respect. Roma integration is also a priority," the Hungarian ambassador said.

Asked if the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen will be postponed, Lang said: "I think it is absolutely pointless to try guessing or fix any specific dates.

I believe this is unproductive since it is a fact that Bulgaria and Romania have been making enormous efforts to meet the criteria [for joining the Schengen area]. It is also a fact that the [European] Commission has set March as the time of adopting a decision on the issue, as well as it is a fact that the Hungarian presidency sets itself the goal of making the political decision before the end of June [2011]. "

Further on she said that the Hungarian presidency was waiting for the results of the latest progress monitoring mission and observed that this was the reason why it is unproductive to go on "asking riddles." "The Hungarian presidency is committed to the issue, it is one of its priorities and we will put all our energy in achieving a progress in resolving it," Lang pledged. Another priority of the Hungarian presidency is the EU's enlargement.

"I believe that if a progress is achieved in this respect, we will contribute to the stability of the entire Western Balkans," Lang said. "From this point of view I believe it is important to complete the negotiations on Croatia's accession to the EU by the end of the Hungarian presidency, which would draw the prospect of Serbia joining [the Community] closer. It is also important to continue the negotiations on Turkey's entry in the EU, making progress on the different chapters."

"We have been following attentively the language issue concerning the name of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia and its dispute with Greece about it. If the requisite conditions are satisfied, Hungary, as holder of the EUpresidency, is ready to start [accession] talks with Macedonia," Lang stated.

The ambassador laid emphasis on Roma integration, which is also on the list of priorities.

"We would like to establish by the end of June an all-European framework of the national strategies for Roma integration, i.e. to resolve the issue in all its aspects on European level. We believe that increased employment and education are particularly important in this respect. In fact they are a step toward accomplishment of the Europe 2020 strategy, practically performing an interactive activity. The Roma issue cannot be just separated as a single heap of problems, it is part of the common European policy," Lang said.

Source: BTA