House speaker: Minorities’ representation in parlt model for Europe

Budapest (MTI) – The form of parliamentary representation Hungary now offers to its national and ethnic minorities should be a minimum for other European nations, House Speaker Laszlo Kover told public Duna TV on Sunday.

Kover said that minorities have fewer parliamentary powers in a majority of European countries than in Hungary.

Under Hungary’s new election law adopted in December 2011, minorities have the right to delegate a spokesperson to parliament. The first spokespersons appeared in the House after the 2014 general election.

“Hungary has remedied a constitutional deficit it had towards its minorities for 20 years before and could only achieve this with the help of a two-thirds majority in the national assembly,” Kover said.

The spokespersons have put forward several initiatives in connection with the laws affecting their respective communities, he said.

Hungary’s public media focuses on national and ethnic minorities on Sunday, presenting their culture and traditions.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters