The geopolitical location of Bulgaria is very important and I hope that the accession of Bulgaria to Schengen would take place any time soon, stated Mihai Balla, Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Hungarian Parliament (Diet). On October 27, 2011 the parliamentary delegation led by him,  which is on a two-day visit to Bulgaria, held a meeting with the National Assembly Foreign and Defense Policy Committee Chairman Dobroslav Dimitrov and committee members.

During the talks Mihai Balla underscored that Bulgaria has fulfilled the technical criteria for acceeding to Schengen. He went on to say that Hungary will continuously render support to Bulgaria for joining Schengen even after the end of the Hungarian EU presidency.
The Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Hungarian Parliament stressed that the aim of the current visit is to further strengthen and deepen the close relations between the two countries. The good level of parliamentary cooperation is of benefit for enhancing the contacts in the economic field, he said. Mihai Balla expressed hope that in the future more business representatives from his country would find partners in Bulgaria. The Hungarian parliamentarian noted the existing opportunities for cooperation in the field of tourism and underscored the fact that this year more than 100 thousand Hungarian nationals have spent their holidays at the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
It is of paramount importance for Hungary to develop its relations with the countries from the Western Balkans and maintaining close links with Bulgaria could be very helpful in this regard, said the Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Hungarian Parliament.
The Chairman of the Foreign and Defense Policy Committee of the Bulgarian National Assembly Dobroslav Dimitrov noted during the meeting that the economic cooperation between the two countries is a logical result of the existing good foreign political relations. The Bulgarian M.P.s expressed this country’s gratitude for the unwavering support of Hungary for Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen. They all stressed that Bulgarians cherish extremely warm feelings for the Hungarian people and noted the long-standing traditions of cultural cooperation between the two countries.
The delegation of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Hungarian Parliament is paying a visit to Bulgaria at an invitation by the Foreign and Defense Policy Committee of the Bulgarian Parliament. On October 26, 2011 the Hungarian parliamentarians met wit the President of the National Assembly Tsetska Tsacheva.  The program of the visit foresees meetings with the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee Menda Stoyanova and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Konstantin Dimitrov.