READOUT: Ranking Member Shaheen, Senator Durbin, Representative Turner Travel to Hungary

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with Hungarian civil society groups and senior government officials in Budapest, including Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Anita Orbán. She was joined by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Mike Turner (R-OH). This is the first official high-level U.S. delegation to visit Budapest since the inauguration of the new government.

The lawmakers met with Deputy Prime Minister Orbán, where they discussed the opportunity to reset U.S.-Hungary relations and focus on areas of common interest including bilateral economic and security ties. Senator Shaheen noted the deep and longstanding relationship between the United States and Hungary, which has helped anchor peace and economic growth in Central Europe for decades, and emphasized that the partnership should transcend domestic politics in either country and be rooted in a shared commitment to democracy, the rule of law, mutual security and protecting Europe from external threats.

Senator Shaheen commended the government for their early steps to restore democracy, rule of law, independent media and judicial systems and root out corruption. The Senator also praised the new government's pro-EU and pro-NATO orientation and their support for a critical 90-billion-euro EU loan to Ukraine.

The lawmakers additionally met with Márton Hajdu, Member of Parliament and Chair of its Foreign Policy Committee, as well as leaders from Hungarian civil society groups. In both meetings, Senator Shaheen and her colleagues discussed the importance of sustaining reforms to promote economic growth and democratic institutions as well as root out corruption and deepen Hungary's Euro-Atlantic foreign policy orientation.

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