The ruling Socialist Party (MSZP) is considering putting forward a bill on the "status of Hungarians living beyond the border", Jozsef Kozma, deputy chairman of Parliament's foreign affairs committee, told MTI on Thursday.

"This status would symbolise affiliation to, and emotional association with, the nation," he said.

Asked if the Socialists had changed their mind since the 2004 referendum, when they opposed granting Hungarian citizenship to ethnic kin, Kozma said, "both the issue and the world have changed since then."

Hungary, Slovakia and Romania have joined the European Union, Croatia has made a big advance towards accession and Serbia has also embarked on the road of European integration, he said.

It follows that the situation of ethnic Hungarians beyond the border has changed greatly, with different challenges emerging in each of the neighbouring countries, he added.

Among the problems, Kozma mentioned language identity in Slovakia, autonomy in Romania, visa regulation in Serbia, and education in Ukraine.

The Socialist MP emphasised that all ethnic Hungarians wishing to settle in Hungary should be given Hungarian citizenship without any obstacles while those wishing to remain in their native land should be assisted by every possible means.

Granting Hungarian citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living beyond the country's borders is one of the signature policies of main opposition Fidesz. Fidesz, riding high in the polls, wants to renew efforts to grant some form of citizenship to ethnic Hungarians.

The beleaguered Socialists, who performed dismally in the European parliamentary elections, only got slightly more seats than radical nationalist Jobbik, which gained a lot of votes from a constituency which approved of the party's strong stance on granting greater rights to Hungary's ethnic minority in neighbouring countries.