Withdrawal of Ukraine dual citizenship bill must have follow-up, says Hungarian FM

Ukraine‘s withdrawal of a bill that would have stripped dual citizens of their Ukrainian citizenship must only be “the first step” if the country is serious about its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told public news channel M1 on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported that President Petro Poroshenko had withdrawn the bill that would have stripped dual citizens who participate in the elections of other countries and use foreign passports when travelling in and out of Ukraine of their Ukrainian citizenship.

The Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (KMKSZ) welcomed the decision in a statement.

“The bill would have had an adverse impact on the lives of millions of Ukrainian citizens who had fled a life without prospects … Ukrainian citizens with dual citizenship of EU countries are an opportunity for rapprochement towards European structures and to strengthen the country’s European integration,” KMKSZ said.

The proposal, which Hungary had criticised on multiple occasions, was originally meant to target Crimeans, but it would also have applied to citizens of every other country, including Transcarpathia Hungarians.

Szijjártó has said that the law, if passed, would have been Ukraine’s “third blow” to its national minorities after the country’s amendment to its education law and the declaration of its language law as unconstitutional.

Source: MTI