Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni met her Hungarian counterpart Victor Orbán this afternoon at the Palazzo Quiji government palace in Rome.

A statement from the Italian government underlined that Meloni congratulated Orban on the success of his country’s rotating presidency of the EU, on the adoption of the Budapest Declaration on Competitiveness, as well as on the opening of the first chapter of negotiations for Albania’s accession to the Union and the progress made with Bulgaria and Romania on the enlargement of the Schengen area.

The two prime ministers also expressed satisfaction with bilateral and trade relations and their willingness to further strengthen them. Referring to Ukraine, they advocated a lasting and just peace based on international law and the UN Charter, according to the Italian government’s statement.

At the same time, Georgia Meloni and Victor Orban pledged that their countries would continue to support and participate in NATO and EU initiatives for the stabilization of the Western Balkans and reiterated their substantial support for the enlargement process involving the countries of the region.

On the issue of migration, the Italian government’s statement stressed that the will to combat illegal immigration, to strengthen cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of migrants, as well as to combat human trafficking was again clearly stated.

The two prime ministers also expressed the common will to immediately update the relevant legal framework in order to increase and facilitate the process of repatriation from the EU, with particular reference to the strengthening of the definition concerning safe countries of origin. Finally, they stressed the importance of seeking new ways to combat and prevent irregular migration, concerning international law and that of the European Union, based on the path started with the agreement between Italy and Albania, the Meloni government statement said.