French President Sarkozy to visit Budapest today

French President Nicholas Sarkozy will send a message to the EU when he addresses the Hungarian Parliament today, according to a senior foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány.

Advisor Károly Banai told Népszava that the governments of both countries are introducing reforms, and endeavours for change will be in the centre of discussions today.

Sarkozy's one-day visit is the first by a French president since Jacques Chirac in February 2004.

Sarkozy will first meet President László Sólyom and then Gyurcsány before addressing Parliament. He will also meet Speaker Katalin Szili, Fidesz chairman Viktor Orbán and Budapest mayor Gábor Demszky.

In an interview with Népszabadság, Sarkozy said he is deeply touched to visit Hungary, where his father was born. Sarkozy has been estranged from his father since childhood, and does not speak Hungarian.

The visit will be the first in a series of trips to EU countries to prepare the French EU presidency in the second half of 2008. Sarkozy said this clearly demonstrates the importance he attributes to Hungary.

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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