The Hungarian response to be given to Brussels at the October quota referendum will also be an extremely important precedent for Slovakia, Árpád János Potápi, State Secretary for Nation Policy at the Prime Minister’s Office pointed out on Wednesday at a press conference in Pozsony (Bratislava) which he held jointly with József Menyhárt, President of the Party of the Hungarian Community (MKP) at the head office of the Hungarian party in Slovakia.
The two politicians said at the press conference: at the meeting held on the occasion of the passage of one hundred days since the re-election of the leadership of MKP, they discussed the plans of the Hungarian party in Slovakia for the near future, issues of nation policy, and current affairs, including the quota referendum.
In the context of the latter, Mr Potápi said that while there will not be a referendum in Slovakia, public opinion in Slovakia regarding the issue of the quotas contemplated by Brussels with a view to the distribution of asylum-seekers is not far from that of the Hungarian people, and the outcome of the referendum of 2 October, „the Hungarian response to be given to Brussels” will be an extremely important precedent for Slovakia as well which it will be able to cite.
Mr Potápi said: the President of MKP also informed him about events that have taken place within the Hungarian party in Slovakia since the re-election of its leadership. „The assessment of the situation has been completed, and we shall now embark on the implementation of specific goals”, he said.
József Menyhárt, President of MKP told the press: after the re-election of the leadership, they assessed the points on which the system within the party and the regional units are in need of improvement and modernisation. He added: the process of renewal is partly still under way, but in some areas, such as communication, it has already been completed, and the topics have been identified which the party will intend to focus on in the near future. „All this work cannot be fully completed in just a hundred days, but I sincerely hope that we shall not need another one hundred days before we can start working with an even more active and flexible system”, he remarked.
After the meeting held in MKP’s head office, Mr Potápi attended the institution and semester opening ceremony of the Pozsony Hungarian College which started its operation in September this year. In addition to providing accommodation for Hungarian students studying in the city, the institution which operates in the centre of Pozsony will also organise seminars, lectures and debates for its members, and will conduct managerial and other training courses.
Mr Potápi said upon speaking about the college: the State Secretariat for Nation Policy provided a grant of HUF 25 million for the establishment of the institution which currently accommodates 20 persons. He highlighted: they managed to set up yet another Hungarian institution in Pozsony, and it may contribute to reinforcing the identity of Hungarian students from Slovak territories who study in higher education, and will also serve as a venue for cultural and other events. „I sincerely hope that this institution will further develop in the years and decades ahead”, he remarked.
Mr. Szijjártó also said that Hungary rejects the application of double standards, for instance in public discourse about Russia. “We expect everyone to respect the fact that Hungary is on speaking terms with Russia”, the Minster said. “We rasie no objections when Italian Prime Minster Matteo Renzi, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin step on the podium together at the St. Petersburg Forum. We raise no objections if the Finnish and Russian Presidents hold talks and we raise no objections if Putin is welcomed in Greece or is invited to visit France by the country’s president. We have no objections to any of these things, but we will not tolerate double standards”, Hungary’s chief diplomat emphasised.