France looks east ahead of EU Presidency

France yesterday (22 May) took a step towards revitalising its ties with Eastern Europe by signing a ‘strategic partnership’ with Hungary. The move will be followed by a similar agreement with Poland next Wednesday.

The agreement signed in Paris between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány aims for closer cooperation in the field of politics, science, nuclear energy, the fight against climate change and defence. 

Stepping up defence cooperation within the EU to strengthen the bloc’s security policy is one of the main objectives of the French Presidency which starts on 1 July.

The Elysée welcomed Gyurcsány’s statement that “Hungary was attached to a Europe of defence that is not to be seen in competition with NATO”. 

Gyurcsány noted that France was late to discover Central and Eastern Europe, but nevertheless hailed the ‘new axis’ with the country, saying that it showed “very clearly that French-German cooperation is not sufficient” to move Europe forward any longer. 

The Hungarian Prime Minister told Le Monde that Sarkozy had asked for his support towards achieving the objectives of the French Presidency, most notably the sealing of an immigration pact among the 27 member states. 

Before the Franco-Hungarian accord, Sarkozy had already sealed a strategic partnership with Romania in February. 

Next week he will travel to Warsaw to sign a similar deal with the Polish President. This visit was originally set to take place weeks ago but had to be postponed twice due to scheduling problems. 

Read more with Euractiv

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