BRATISLAVA, January 28, (WEBNOVINY) – Slovakia would like to resolve the issue of dual Hungarian – Slovak citizenship through a standard intergovernmental treaty. Slovakia will submit its proposal to the intergovernmental commission coming together on February 17, said Prime Minister Iveta Radicova after she met her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban in Bratislava on Friday. “It is in Slovak interest that the citizens who live in Slovakia, are Slovak citizens, that they live, work and build their relationship to the state where they live,” emphasized Radicova. She added that Orban told her that his country will avoid a campaign, which would lure Slovak citizens to ask for Hungarian citizenship in line with latest amendment of the Budapest controversial dual citizenship law.
An intergovernmental commission should work on the blueprint of the treaty; Slovakia should present its first proposal on February 17. Radicova said it is hard to tell when the treaty might be signed, as she does not know with how many comments the Hungarian side will come with. “Slovakia wants that people who live in Slovakia were citizens of the Slovak Republic,” Radicova presented the position of her Cabinet. She considers a bilateral treaty to be the only possible solution of the recent situation.
The Hungarian Prime Minister said that the efforts to sign a bilateral treaty on dual citizenship failed in the era of the previous government, but there is no reason why not to consider the Slovak proposal as the atmosphere is much better for cooperation now, after the change of the governments, Orban says. He added that previous experience has shown that the Hungarian citizenship law “does not come from the Devil” and that the applications for Hungarian citizenship are assessed individually and very strictly.
Orban reminded that today’s official visit of the Hungarian Prime Minister to Slovakia was the first one after twelve years. “The last official visit took place in 1999. By coincidence, I was the Prime Minister also that time,” said the Hungarian Prime Minister. He emphasized that he sincerely wishes good relations with Slovakia. “The reports, according to which I have innocent Slovak children for breakfast, are not true.”
During Orban’s visit to Bratislava, the prime ministers have signed an intergovernmental treaty on constructing Slovak-Hungarian gas pipeline interconnection, which will be a part of the east-south energy project. The signatories pledge to cooperate in constructing, operating and maintaining the pipeline.
SITA