6 Dec 2003

Magyar Nemzet




Lesen Sie hier den
Autonomie-Bericht
von Andi Gross
.
(PDF-Dokument,
60 Seiten)


Lesen Sie hier die
Debatte zum Autonomie-Bericht
im CoE.

Conference about
European minority self-governments
In focus: autonomy

If you help yourselves, not only God will help you, but also perhaps the European Union and international law, sent the message to Hungarians living beyond the borders former prime minister Viktor Orbán at the conference organised by the Pro Minoritate Foundation and Budapest Analyses titled Minority Self-government in Europe - Autonomies, attended by several Hungarian and foreign experts.

Csaba Dömötör

According to Mr Viktor Orbán, minorities must draft and represent their interests. Neither the "trimmed" Status Law, nor the concept of double citizenship will fully solve the problems of the Hungarians stuck beyond the borders, as all of these are assistance "coming from outside", said the former prime minister. As he commented, the unresolved nature of national existence for the Hungarians of the Carpathian Basin continues to be a problem also on the threshold of European accession. The President of Fidesz also touched upon the issue of the emerging European Constitution. Mentioning the rights of "persons belonging to national minorities" in the Constitution is a "small, although not insignificant" step, he said. He reminded that the provisions in the compromise draft version introduced by the Italian presidency mean a stepback vis-a-vis the Hungarian concept.

Calvinist bishop László Tökés expressed his conviction that the establishment of the internal autonomy is the only viable solution for the Hungarian community in Transylvania. According to Mr Iván Bába, former state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungarian goals regarding the autonomy do not trespass European legal princples but they cannot be derived thereof. "There are good examples, but there are no models", he emphasised. Mr Andreas Gross, the Swiss rapporteur of the Council of Europe, underlined: pursuing autonomy is often difficult in an environment where democracy has no adequate traditions.

Andreas Gross



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