The Diplomat
The Hungarian Minister of Justice, Judit Varga, who is also responsible for EU affairs, paid an official visit to Madrid on 15 November, meeting with the Secretary of State of the Spanish Ministry of Justice, Pablo Zapatero Miguel, as well as with Secretary of State for EU affairs, Juan González-Barba.
In her meeting with the Secretary of State for the European Union they discussed in particular the preparation and coordination of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2023, and the subsequent Hungarian Presidency in the second half of 2024. The Belgian, Spanish and Hungarian Presidencies of the Council will form a Trio Presidency, which from July 2023 will have to set common objectives and draw up a programme of issues to be dealt with by the Council in that eighteen-month period.
The two representatives also discussed current issues on the agenda of the General Affairs Council, including the Migration and Asylum Pact, the European Union’s external relations, with particular emphasis on the Southern Neighbourhood and the Eastern Partnership, and the Conference on the Future of Europe. Finally, they discussed other key issues of European integration, such as the rule of law and the enlargement of the European Union.
