Trianon 100 – Official addresses centenary conference

One hundred years ago, the great powers sought to prevent Hungary from having a future by drawing up and signing the Trianon Peace Treaty, a government official told a conference marking the treaty’s centenary in Budapest on Thursday.

But present-day Hungary is proof that their efforts failed, state secretary Árpád János Potápi told the event held at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.     

The groundwork for the Hungarian government’s policy for ethnic Hungarians abroad was laid in 1990 by the prime minister of the time, József Antall, who said that he wanted “in spirit” to be the prime minister of 15 million Hungarians, Potápi, who is in charge of the policy of ethnic Hungarians abroad, said.     

A network of institutions supporting Hungarian communities beyond the borders has been established and the Hungarian parliament declared 2020 the year of national cohesion.

The year has also been declared a year of solidarity in light of the coronavirus pandemic, he noted at the conference.     

In terms of financing, Potápi noted that while the previous government in 2009 had spent an annual 9.1 billion forints on supporting those communities, the current government is spending 100 billion (EUR 274m) each year.     

Also, since the introduction of the fast-track Hungarian citizenship scheme in May 2010, a total of 1.1 million people have either obtained or regained Hungarian citizenship, he said.

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Source: MTI