Government made no mention of Benes decrees, says Hungary envoy to Czech Republic

Prague, December 15 (MTI) – Neither the Hungarian president nor any member of the government have made any mention of the Benes decrees or their bearing on the Czech Republic or Slovakia’s EU membership, Hungary’s ambassador to the Czech Republic said after meeting the Czech foreign minister.

Ambassador Tibor Peto was summoned by Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek over comments made by Hungarian Speaker of Parliament Laszlo Kover to Czech daily Pravo that the Czech Republic and Slovakia should not have joined the European Union over the post-war Benes decrees.

The Benes decrees were a series of laws that ruled on the expulsion of many ethnic Germans and Hungarians from Czechoslovakia who had settled there during or before the German occupation. Under the decrees, they lost their citizenship and property.

Peto told MTI that both he and the Czech foreign minister stressed the importance of maintaining friendly bilateral relations at their meeting.

Kover said the Czech Republic and Slovakia should not have been admitted to the EU as long as the decrees remain a part of their legal order.

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