File photo of Zsolt Semjén

Support for Hungary’s indigenous nationalities has increased sixfold in recent years, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said during his annual hearing before the Hungarian Nationalities Committee of the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon.

Zsolt Semjén pointed out that the status of indigenous nationalities in Hungary is regulated by the constitution. The constitution states that they are state-forming factors, he emphasized, adding that nationalities are entitled to autonomy.

He reported that support for nationalities has increased sixfold in recent years. While there were only 12 schools in 2010, there are now 112, representing 2,500 teachers and more than 20,000 children. They have been able to support 1,571 projects, and ethnic minority teachers receive a 40 percent bonus.

Antal Paulik, spokesperson for the Slovak national minority, proposed that the microcensus should also include sampling on national minority issues. He asked whether there was a chance that they could take joint action towards the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH).

Erika Kissné Köles, spokesperson for the Slovenian nationality, thanked the government for the opportunity to cooperate. She requested support for the church in Szentgotthárd (western Hungary) and assistance for the church in Apátistvánfalva (western Hungary).

Committee Chairman Imre Ritter, member of the National Assembly representing nationalities, and József Szolga, Croatian nationality spokesperson, both spoke about the expanding resources of nationalities and their local governments. Imre Ritter announced that he would propose that nationality subsidies be exempted from the moratorium on commitments.

Lyubomir Alexov, Serbian nationality spokesperson, also thanked the government, emphasizing that the past decade and a half had brought unprecedented development in the lives of all nationalities. At the same time, he expressed his regret that the Serbian-Hungarian Joint Committee on Minorities has not met for more than ten years, according to their information, due to the Serbian side’s uncooperative attitude. He asked that steps be taken to ensure that the body meets again.

In his response, Zsolt Semjén said that

he considers the KSH’s statement regarding the microcensus to be reasonable, as the 3% sample size is very small and the results will not be representative of a smaller community, thus potentially leading to distorted, inaccurate results. The Deputy Prime Minister indicated that he supports conducting targeted sociological research with the KSH regarding nationalities.

Regarding the Slovenian church, he indicated that they would provide what was necessary to preserve the building, but they were unable to provide one billion forints (2.6 million euros) for the complete renovation of the building at this time. He suggested that a plan be prepared for the later scheduling of the work.

Regarding the Serbian-Hungarian Joint Committee on Minorities, he said that the government is ready for negotiations and that it is not up to them.

Zsolt Semjén also addressed the issue of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations, saying that this should not place any burden on Ukrainians living here. He noted that the indigenous Ukrainian community and the Ukrainian refugee community cannot be equated. The former need a different type of support, he said. However, there will be no need for such a large Ukrainian education system if, for example, the war ends and the refugees return, he noted, while also indicating that the Ukrainian cultural center will receive support.

The meeting commemorated the victims of the 1956 revolution and freedom fight. In his short speech, Imre Ritter emphasized that freedom cannot be taken for granted and must be fought for every day.

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Via MTI; Featured image: Facebook/Semjén Zsolt