Budapest - The presidents of Poland and Hungary believe their relations must be strengthened, Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom said Tuesday after meeting his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski in Budapest. Solyom said he wished to meet Kaczynski more often to discuss a joint strategy within the European Union. Kaczynski was also due to meet Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany on the one-day visit.
The visit was originally due to last two days, but Kaczynski said that the current debate in Poland on whether to ratify the EU's Lisbon treaty forced him to cut short his visit.
The treaty is designed to simplify the EU's working practices and replaces the draft constitution that France and the Netherlands rejected in 2005.
There have been calls by the opposition under Jaroslaw Kaczynski - the twin brother of Lech Kaczynski and former prime minister - to block the ratification of the treaty in order to add provisions to safeguard certain perceived national interests.
