Boka: European competitiveness presidency’s top priority

Competitiveness will be a central theme of all council formations and the informal Budapest meeting of the European Council in November, Boka told journalists before a meeting of the General Affairs Council.

Also, EU enlargement will be a key topic, he said. “Our goal is for all candidate countries to advance in this process under the Hungarian presidency,” he said.

Meanwhile, shoring up the bloc’s relations with Switzerland and the UK, handling demographic challenges, combatting the spread of anti-Semitism and protecting Europe’s Jewish cultural heritage will also be on the agenda, he added.

Boka noted that the second item on the agenda of the General Affairs Council is the council’s dialogue on the rule of law based on the European Commission’s relevant 2024 report.

In addition, representatives of North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania will take part in today’s meeting for the first time, he said. “It’s very important that the candidate countries of the Western Balkans participate as equals in this dialogue,” he added.