Minister of State for Public Administration and Justice Bence Rétvári was one of the keynote speakers at the international conference entitled Trends and Directions of Kin-State Policies in Europe and Across the Globe, held in Budapest on Friday.

The Minister of State reminded those present that dual citizenship was supported by almost every member of Parliament and stated that there are 115 countries in the world who grant voting rights to their citizens living abroad, of which 24 are Member States of the EU. Member of the European Parliament (EP) Kinga Gál sent a video message on the occasion of the conference and said that at the EP she had learnt that every nation’s MEPs fight for their countries’ interests while staying European. A stronger European integration results in the stronger endorsement of national interests, she added.

Following the speeches, an international roundtable discussion on National Policy and Dual Citizenship in the Neighboring Countries of Hungary began with the participation of experts from Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.

Following the roundtable debate, consecutive lectures were held by esteemed speakers such as Member of the French Senate Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam or Ambassador of Hungary to France László Trócsányi. They presented case studies on External Voting in Western Europe and Overseas.

In the afternoon, another roundtable discussion took place on Hungarian Kin-State Politics, where Hungarian experts debated the country’s policy. Finally, Deputy State Secretary for Hungarian Communities Abroad Zsuzsanna Répás from the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice delivered a closing speech.

(Prime Minister’s Office)