Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that the country intended to finalize European Union's (EU) pre-accession talks with Croatia, adding that other countries of the region should also be admitted to the bloc in order that the work on the unification of the European continent could be completed, Croatian electronic media reported Thursday.

At a press conference held for a group of journalists invited from Brussels to Budapest to attend the inauguration of the six-month Hungarian EU presidency, Orban said Hungary intended and wanted to conclude the accession negotiations with Croatia during Hungary's EU presidency, ending in July 2010.

If one looks at the map, one will see a grey area between Greece and Hungary and always have a sense of unfinished work there, the Hungarian prime minister said, adding that the EU should make its outline complete by first admitting Croatia, and then Serbia and other countries.

The completion of accession negotiations with Croatia is among the key priorities of the Hungarian presidency in the first half of this year.

Hungary's priorities include promoting economic growth and employment, energy security, the European Roma integration strategy and the Danube strategy.

Hungary also supports integration of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area.