Hungarian PM: EU presidency an opportunity to show way out of crisis

Addressing a European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said it was favourable that Hungary and then Poland will be EU president in 2011, a year when a revival from the global crisis may start.

The Hungarian prime minister noted that countries in Central Europe had successfully tackled a crisis already in 1990, which he said had been twice as serious as the current one, Peter Szijjarto said in a statement.

Orban said that trade unions and the organisations representing employers played a significant role in resolving the crisis in 1990, expressing hope that these organisations across Europe will work in a similarly close cooperation to find ways out of the crisis during Hungary's presidency in the first half of next year.

At the summit the EU trade unions and employers' representatives supported goals the Hungarian prime minister outlined for Hungary's upcoming presidency, which include creating more jobs and strengthening solidarity within society.

The summit brought together EU political leaders, as well as the representatives of European trade union confederations and employers' organisations.