Prime Minister Viktor Orban's tour in Brussels, Sofia and Bucharest

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban will hold talks with Bulgarian leaders in Sofia on Friday and then come to Bucharest, where he will meet with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Bertalan Havasi, the Hungarian prime minister’s spokesman, announced on Wednesday, as quoted by the state agency MTI.   Hungarian premier Orban is to speak about the results of the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council at a joint press conference with the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission. On Friday, the Hungarian prime minister will hold talks in Sofia with Bulgarian leaders, before continuing his tour to Bucharest to meet with his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu, the same statement said.   The visit to Romania and Bulgaria comes in the context of the two states achieving full Schengen accession during Hungary’s mandate at the head of the EU Council. According to the official program presented by Havasi, Orban will travel to Brussels on Wednesday, where the summit of the European Union and the Western Balkan countries will take place, and on Thursday he will participate in the European Council meeting.   At the closing press conference of the summit, Viktor Orban, who will also be joined by the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, will provide information on the results of the six months of the Hungarian EU presidency, said Bertalan Havasi.   Viktor Orban will then travel to Bulgaria and Romania, states that have achieved full membership, as of 1 January 2025, during Hungary’s mandate at the Council of the European Union. Hungary has set the goal of completing the accession of the two states to Schengen upon taking over the mandate. “It is in Hungary’s national interest,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in October about Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen.   EU interior ministers voted on December 12 for Romania and Bulgaria to join Schengen with land borders from January 1. The two states had already been in Schengen with sea and air borders since March. “Signed and initialed – dear Bulgarian and Romanian friends, welcome to the Schengen area!” was the message of the Hungarian EU presidency, immediately after the unanimous vote on accession.