BRATISLAVA, May 27, (WEBNOVINY) — The Slovak Parliament adopted a statement on Friday rejecting the extraterritorial effects of the Hungarian Constitution and other legislation. The statement further points out that Slovakia only recognizes rights acquired on an individual basis. Parliament adopted a statement of this wording with 75 votes of the ruling coalition deputies.
The coalition and opposition failed to find common language on the issue even after a nearly two-day debate on the wording of the statement regarding the newly adopted Hungarian Constitution and other legislative steps of Hungary. The coalition deputies defended the text prepared by the Parliamentary Foreign Committee, while the opposition preferred a sharper wording from the workroom of the opposition Slovak National Party (SNS).
Slovak politicians are concerned over steps taken by the Hungarian government of Viktor Orban, which in 2010 adopted a controversial citizenship law enabling everyone with ancestors in Hungary who speak Hungarian to acquire Hungarian citizenship, without the need to have ever lived in the country. This would mean a better portion of the Hungarian ethnic minority in Slovakia could get the citizenship. This year, the Hungarian Parliament approved a new constitution, which creates a framework for granting voting rights in Hungary to ethnic Hungarians abroad. It also states that Hungary bears the responsibility for the fate of Hungarians abroad and wants to support application of collective rights of this minority. The amended Hungarian Constitution is to take effect as of 2012.
The opposition criticized the coalition’s draft as too mellow.
SITA