Strengthening economic cooperation in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and the Polish and Hungarian ways to deal with the crisis have been the subjects of talks between Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak and Istvan Varga, the Hungarian minister of national development and economy of Hungary. The meeting of ministers from both countries, first in three years, was held on 30 June 2009 at the MoE headquarters.

Deputy Prime Minister Pawlak emphasized that Poland was willing to deepen economic cooperation with the countries from the region of Central and Eastern Europe. – The area holds 160 million people, which form a combined market and GDP much larger than Russia's – he said. In his opinion, regional cooperation, including within the Visegrad Group, could bring very good results, because of the economic potential and common historical experiences of the countries of this part of Europe.

The deputy prime minister said that the volume of Polish-Hungarian trade should be regarded as satisfactory. – Although euro estimates indicate a 30-percent decline in trade this year, when converted into the national currencies, you can even talk about trade growth – he said. According to the deputy head of the Polish government, the international competitiveness of Polish goods had improved due to the weaker Polish currency, among other things.

In the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Pawlak, Poland and Hungary should continue cooperation especially in the banking sector and the implementation of the European energy links, particularly in the north-south direction.

Minister Istvan Varga reassured that the Hungarian economy had been stabilizing. To minimize the budget deficit, the Hungarian government increased the VAT rate to 25 percent and raised the excise duty. – In return, we are trying to introduce incentives to facilitate business. To this end, we've reduced all benefit contributions by 5 percent – he added.

Minister Varga also informed that the main crisis-prevention action would be focused in Hungary on 4 industries: automotive, transport and logistics, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications.

The Hungarian minister of national development and economy stayed in Poland at the invitation of the Senate.