Hungarians do not find the neighbouring countries antipathic, a recent survey by Nézőpont Institute showed. Most respondents said that Hungary maintained good relations with the majority of its neighbours. More than half of those asked said that inter-state relations were best with Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. Some 48% said that Hungarian-Slovak relations were good, partly thanks to the good-neighbourly links maintained in recent years.

More Hungarians believe that inter-state relations with Ukraine and Serbia are good than those who believe that they are bad. However, when it comes to assessing Hungarian-Romanian relations, Hungarians are divided. Some 52% said that Hungarian-Romanian relations should be improved. “Whereas the partnership between (Hungarian Prime Minister) Viktor Orbán and (Slovak counterpart) Robert Fico played a role in the positive assessment of Hungarian-Slovak relations, the often confrontational tone by the former Ponta government could have influenced the assessment of Hungarian-Romanian links which divided the sample,” the Budapest-based think-tank said.
The survey was conducted over the phone with a sample of 1,000 people between January 4 and 7 and it was made for the Charta XXI Reconciliation Movement. According to its manifesto, the movement’s chief objective is the formation of rock-solid bonds between “human and human”. “Cooperation between citizens is necessary for the peoples of Central Europe not to look at each other with distrust”, the document says.

via nezopontintezet.hu and hungarymatters.hu