Slovakia's Culture Ministry will not seek to prevent evaluation of the amended State Language Act by relevant international organisations such as the UN or the Council of Europe, Petra Fejdi of the ministry's press department said on Tuesday, August 4.
"Nothing is stopping Hungary calling for an examination of Slovakia's State Language Act in terms of whether it's in compliance with international agreements," said Fejdi. She noted that Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) commissioners Knut Vollebaek (for national minorities) and Miklos Haraszti (for press freedom) have confirmed that the act is in line with Slovakia's international commitments.
Hungary's President László Sólyom stated on August 3 that Slovakia's State Language Act is at odds with values of the European Union, as it turns a multi-national country into a unilingual one. Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Péter Balázs announced on the same day that after turning to the OSCE with the issue, his country will also address the Council of Europe and the UN Human Rights Council. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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