The number of Hungarians from beyond the borders registering for the 2 October referendum has increased by almost a third compared with the previous vote, the State Secretary for Nation Policy stated before the National Cohesion Committee of Parliament on Monday.
Árpád János Potápi pointed out: 274,576 people registered by the 17 September deadline, while this number was 194,000 at the time of the last parliamentary election. In his words, the joint task now is to ensure that people from among them should actually cast their votes in the largest possible numbers. The deadline for the receipt of votes cast by mail is 11.59 p.m. on 1 October, he said. The State Secretary added: they encourage people to say no in the referendum, as it is important to ensure that there should be no means for changing the ethnic make-up of the Carpathian Basin and Hungary in a forceful manner. The people in Szeklerland are concerned that if Romania accepts the quotas, the Romanian Government may relocate migrants to their territory.
The State Secretary further said that this year the Hungarian Diaspora Council will meet on 30 November, while the meeting of the Hungarian Standing Conference is scheduled for 1 December. The Prime Minister will open both. Mr Potápi indicated: as expected, next year will be the thematic year of Hungarian family businesses beyond the borders. He described this year’s year of young Hungarian entrepreneurs beyond the borders as successful, and said: it is not out of the question that the allocation of HUF 525 million available for calls will be raised by another HUF 50 to 60 million. In total, 964 proposals have been submitted, and grants will be awarded to approximately 110.
He also reported that after the economic development programme worth HUF 50 billion launched in November in Vojvodina and another programme worth HUF 32 billion which started in Transcarpathia in April this year, they may launch programmes with allocations worth HUF 500 million each which will be designed to promote Hungarian communities in Croatia and Slovenia. Mr Potápi highlighted that the resources allocated to the cause of nation policy have increased continuously ever since 2012, and the allocations of the State Secretariat and Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt. will increase from HUF 17.7 billion to HUF 27.6 billion next year.
Károly Pánczél, Fidesz Chair of the Committee remarked: the entire allocation is around HUF 57 billion which is a most prominent figure. The State Secretary told the Committee that so far 850,000 Hungarians beyond the borders have submitted requests for expedited naturalisation, some 780,000 individuals have taken their citizenship oaths, and the Hungarian citizenship of 70,000 persons living in scattered communities around the world has been established. The foreign representations taking delivery of the highest numbers of requests were Csíkszereda, Kolozsvár, Szabadka, Beregszász and Ungvár. He pointed out: the bulk of the work is increasingly shifting towards scattered communities and localities situated further away from the consulates, while there are further reserves in Szeklerland as well.
The State Secretary indicated that they will select the fifty Hungarian models from beyond the borders at the beginning of October, who will then be taken on a tour of introduction around the Carpathian Basin. He told the Committee that after last year’s HUF 100 million, HUF 150 million will be available this year for the twinning programme in the Carpathian Basin, and they provide grants for the twinning relations of 189 localities in Hungary with 274 Hungarian localities beyond the borders. He further highlighted the allocation of HUF 50 million which is available for supporting young communities: in response to the call 291 proposals were received, 88 of which were found eligible.
He said that one of the most prominent events of the Márton Áron Memorial Year will be held on 29 September in Gyulafehérvár. With the aid of the scholarship holders of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme, Áron Márton will be commemorated at the same time on every continent, he indicated, and also told the Committee that they will launch a Saint Ladislaus Memorial Year in 2017.