“It is important for the Hungarians of Southern Slovakia to acquire parliamentary representation”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Minister of State for Economic Diplomacy Levente Magyar declared in Bratislava on Tuesday.
The Minister of State was speaking in reference to the Hungarian Community Party (MKP) and with relation to the Slovakian parliamentary elections to be held on Saturday as a press conference held jointly with MKP Chairman József Berényi following a meeting with the party leader and the mayors of the Hungarian settlements in the region to discuss economic issues and opportunities to increase cross-border cooperation.
It is important to the Hungarian Government from several perspectives that the Hungarians of Southern Slovakia should be represented in Slovakia’s parliament, Mr. Magyar explained. Partly so that the local Hungarian community should have an opportunity to politically articulate their needs that represents their interests without compromise, and partly because cooperation between Budapest and Bratislava is significantly facilitated if there is an organisation that is capable of acting as mediator.
The Hungarian Government is continuously searching for tools with which to strengthen the Hungarian community in Southern Slovakia, Mr. Magyar said, pointing amongst others to infrastructure development projects realised jointly by the two countries and the creation of new border-crossing opportunities and highlighting the fact that several successes had been achieved with the MKP and Slovakian partners in recent years that serve this particular goal. Development projects aimed at increasing the mutual accessibility of border communities are continuing, the most important of which include the direct motorway link and the bridge across the Danube at Komárom (Komárno), the funding for which is already available, he added.
The most significant Subcarpathian economic development measure on the part of the Hungarian Government is still in preparation, Mr. Magyar said. This will be a large-scale credit and non-refundable funding programme based on the Vojvodinan model, aimed at supporting Hungarian farmers, entrepreneurs and economic local governments in Southern Slovakia. The goal is to increase employment among Hungarians in the region and improve the standard of living of Hungarians living in Southern Slovakia, the Minister of State explained. In reply to a question, he added that programme funding is 160 million euros in the case of Vojvodina, so proportionally we could be talking about twice that in the case of Southern Slovakia.
“If the MKP succeeds in winning a seat at the Parliamentary elections it could serve as a reinforcing factor enabling the Hungarians of Southern Slovakia to also benefit from one of the Hungarian Government’s economic development packages in future”, Mr. Magyar noted, adding that the local custodian of Hungarian national policies aimed at opening new economic dimensions continues to be the MKP.
At the press conference, Mr. Berényi said that it was a piece of extremely positive news that the Hungarians of Southern Slovakia would also benefit from one of the Hungarian Government’s economic development packages in future, adding that he very much hopes that following the elections on Saturday he would be able to positively influence Hungarian-Slovakian economic cooperation to the benefit of Hungarians living in Southern Slovakia from a parliamentary position. “If things go well for Northern Hungary, things also go well for Southern Slovakia, and vice-versa”, Mr. Berényi pointed out.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)
