Slovakia assures Hungary that the new Slovak language law will not curtail Hungarian minority rights

Slovakia’s parliamentary speaker has “clearly reaffirmed” that a planned new language law will not restrict national minorities’ right to use their mother tongue, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Bratislava on Monday.

As we wrote earlier, the New Slovak bill would ban Hungarian language use on trains, buses, trams, and post offices, details HERE.

According to a ministry statement, Szijjártó said after talks with Slovak parliamentary speaker Peter Ziga that Hungary’s government attaches great importance to the fate of ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia. Therefore, the government welcomes Slovakia’s view of the ethnic Hungarian community as an asset in advancing bilateral relations, he added.

“I received clear confirmation today from the speaker that the planned new language law regulation won’t endanger the right of national minorities on Slovakia’s territory to use their mother tongue,” Szijjártó said. He pointed out that he has worked together with Ziga for eight years and even considered him a friend, adding that he “cannot remember a single time when something didn’t pan out the way he said it would”.

Szijjártó said he and Ziga had agreed to stay in contact regarding any legislative process concerning language regulations. “So if either of us perceives a problem … we will talk promptly and take steps together,” he said.