Relations between Slovakia and Hungary will be high on the agenda of the March 12 meeting between the Speaker of the Slovak Parliament, Pavol Paška, and his Hungarian counterpart, Katalin Szili. They will meet in the Slovak village of Bela near Štúrovo to evaluate the joint sessions of five Slovak and Hungarian parliamentary committees which met in January and February. The MP committees were tasked with formulating the main proposals of both sides to be taken up by the speakers of both parliaments in resolving problems between the countries, the SITA newswire wrote.
One of the difficult points dividing the neighbours is Slovakia’s dislike of the formal status of the Forum of MPs of the Carpathian Basin as a standing institution of the Hungarian Parliament. The institution also includes ethnic Hungarian members of parliaments from neighbouring countries and Slovakia claims that because of this it has an extra-territorial reach.
The Hungarian side, however, proposes that the Slovak parliament rescind its resolution condemning this institution as a consultative body to the Hungarian Parliament. The Slovak parliamentary resolution finds it unacceptable that deputies for the ethnic Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) in Slovakia participate in its activities, said SITA.
The countries’ opinions also differ regarding a police intervention against Hungarian fans at a Slovak football league match at the stadium in Dunajská Streda last November. Hungary complains as well about problems with broadcasting of Radio Patria for national minorities in Slovakia and alleged restrictions on use of the minority language and national symbols. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
