Hungary is determined to maintain good bilateral relations with Romania even if the ethnic Hungarian party Democratic Union of Hungarians (RMDSZ) in Romania ends up in opposition rather than government, Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz said on Tuesday.
“We are determined to maintain good relations with the Romanian government even if it does not have any Hungarian ministers or deputy ministers,” Goncz said on the government portal.
At the same time, Goncz said it was important that the rights of ethnic Hungarian communities beyond the borders be guaranteed not only when their parties are in the government. Legal guarantees and democratic institutional guarantees are needed for this, she added.
Goncz noted that the parliament in Bucharest will still include 22 ethnic Hungarian MPs and 9 senators who will represent ethnic minority issues.
Goncz said the representatives of ethnic Hungarians “appear to have been pushed out” of the governments of neighbouring countries. “It must be noted, however, that the composition of these governments are based on democratic principles, and they are the results of parliamentary elections,” she added.
Romanian ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party leader Bela Marko confirmed on Monday evening that his party would be in opposition. However, RMDSZ can still support the government’s reform plans in parliament and maintain dialogue with the governing Democratic-Liberal Party, he added.
