Under current rules, Slovakian citizens applying for citizenship of another country must renounce their Slovak citizenship – dual citizenship is not possible, even though this prohibition is in conflict with the Slovakian constitution. Robert Fico’s government has said that it plans to amend its Act on citizenship to legalise dual citizenship, but not for those applying for Hungarian citizenship.

The proposed amendment would therefore discriminate against ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia, many of whom have already experienced serious disadvantages resulting from their loss of Slovakian citizenship.

In an interview on public Television on Tuesday evening, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said that Hungary will take legal action at an international level if the Slovakian government amends its Act on dual citizenship, as was announced at the beginning of the week.

Mr. Semjén said that it is not possible in law for Hungarians in Slovakia to be singled out and deprived of their Slovakian citizenship.

According to Mr. Semjén, Slovakia has two options: either withdraw the Act in its entirety, or keep the current rules, which have adversely affected Hungarians in Slovakia. He doubted the possibility of the latter.

He said that Hungary will take action on every international forum, and that ‘We will win, one hundred per cent.’

The Slovak Prime Minister discussed the amendment on Monday with his newly-appointed cultural minister, Marek Madaric.

The Slovak government has argued that the current Act on dual citizenship should continue to apply to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia because it was introduced in reaction to Hungary’s own Act on citizenship. Slovakia objects to the latter, which Hungary has refused to amend.

(MTI, kormany.hu)