Hungarian minister slams Romanian President Iohannis, praises local Hungarian party’s effectiveness

Much is at stake at the Romanian parliamentary and presidential elections, and the success of ethnic Hungarian party RMDSZ is a guarantee to good Hungarian-Romanian relations, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said in Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy) on Thursday. About the outgoing Romanian President Iohannis, he said that he brought “more disappointment than joy”.

Speaking at a panel discussion as part of a tour of Transylvania, Gergely Gulyás said that cooperation had been considerably better between the governments every time RMDSZ was part of the Romanian ruling coalition, “and the life opportunities of Transylvania Hungarians were significantly better, more expansive, wider”.

“Therefore, everything must be done to ensure that RMDSZ has the largest possible representation in the Romanian parliament,” Gulyás said. Chances are good for a better-than-before result, “but all Transylvania Hungarians must grasp the importance of the best possible results of presidential candidate Hunor Kelemen and RMDSZ candidates,” he said.

The Romanian state “should be proud of the achievements of Transylvania Hungarians in the past decades, rather than seeing them as opponents,” Gulyás said at the discussion with Arpad Antal, the mayor of Sfantu Gheorghe, and Kovászna county council president Sándor Tamás.

Minister: Klaus Iohannis “brought more disappointment than joy”

Gulyás said Romanian-Hungarian relations had been “changing” since the fall of communism, adding that the decade-long presidency of Klaus Iohannis “brought more disappointment than joy”. “Romania could not accept the traditions and symbols of Transylvania Hungarians, and the outgoing president was not a unifying force in that respect,” Gulyás said, expressing hope that the new president and parliament could bring improving relations.

Hungary has been cooperating with Romania to promote the country’s Schengen accession, and aims to bring about a decision making Romania a full member of the Schengen Area during Hungary’s presidency of the EU council, he said, adding that “there’s a chance of a decision in December”.

The EU is losing its competitiveness in comparison with China, and protecting the external borders of the Schengen Area is the only way to prevent the “implosion of the internal border-less zone”, Gulyás said.

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