The Department of European Law of the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the Pazmany Peter Catholic University of Budapest/PPKE - Pazmany Peter Katolikus Egyetem, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (Office for the Rights of National Minorities) and the Embassy of Romania in Hungary organised on Friday, at the university's headquarters, the conference 'European Legal Culture and Strategic Cooperation - New Dimensions of Hungarian-Romanian Cooperation in the European Union.'

The event was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the signing and entry into force, in September 1996, of the Treaty of Understanding, Cooperation and Good Neighbourliness between Romania and Hungary, the Romanian Embassy in Hungary informed in a social media post

The conference brought together experts from the two countries, who analysed the opportunities to streamline the Romanian-Hungarian cooperation inside the European Union, starting from the numerous objectives and common interests at regional level. The debates within the panels underlined the important role of the bilateral relationship at regional and European level, as well as the need for sustained efforts on the part of both states to shape the common future of the European Union.

The participants discussed the areas of priority interest for Romania and Hungary, from strategic, legal and economic cooperation within the EU, to strengthening energy interdependence, mutual cross-border support and promoting social cohesion, as premises for increasingly close bridges between the two countries.

Speaking at the opening of the conference were Laszlo Komaromi, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science, Pazmany Peter Catholic University; Geza Jeszenszky, former foreign minister of Hungary, historian and university professor, and Gabriel Sopanda, Romania's ambassador to Hungary.

Addressing the plenary session were Valentin Naumescu, presidential adviser for European affairs and professor at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca; Marcel Szabo, judge at the Hungarian Constitutional Court and head of the Department of European Law at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the Pazmany Peter Catholic University; Gyeney Laura Nemzetisegi, deputy commissioner for fundamental rights, responsible for the rights of national minorities and associate professor at the Pazmany Peter Catholic University.

Also speaking were Kozma Gyorgy, President of the National Self-Government of Romanians in Hungary, and Laszlo Szucsigan, spokesman for the Romanian nationality in the Hungarian Parliament.

The Treaty of Understanding, Cooperation and Good Neighbourliness between Romania and the Republic of Hungary was signed on September 16, 1996, in Timisoara, and entered into force on September 26, 1996. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Gabriela Ionescu; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)