German-Hungarian Forum, 20th Annual Conference
The 20th Annual Conference of the German-Hungarian Forum took place on 4th and 5th November 2010 at the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria in Berlin. The Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP) organized the conference entitled “Current challenges in Europe from German and Hungarian perspective” in cooperation with the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DUIHK).
The Foreign Ministers of both countries opened the conference. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle emphasized the good bilateral relations between the two countries and thanked Hungary for its help in 1989 which led to the opening of the Brandenburger Tor. The Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi focused on the upcoming EU presidency of his country in the first half of 2011 in his speech.
In the panel discussions and working groups the main points of discussion were energy security, economic development, the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency in 2011 as well as the status and perspectives of German-Hungarian relations.
By: Christoph Kornes