Region: Slovak, Hungarian leaders meet

By Michaela Stanková

From the Slovak Spectator

Two nations turned to the small Hungarian town of Szécsény, the venue for the Sept. 10 meeting between Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and his Hungarian counterpart, Gordon Bajnai, who sought to combat rising bilateral tensions.

The prime ministers meant to put a friendly spin on the heavy burden of mutual slights and historical grievances continue to push the two neighbors apart.

The meeting, which Fico said was held in a constructive atmosphere, seemingly fulfilled this aim - at least in part.

"The significance of this meeting is that it will help to calm some emotions," Fico said.

The prime ministers signed a joint declaration. In regard to Slovakia's State Language Act, which restricts the use of Hungarian in public life, Fico and Bajnai said they would both respect recommendations of Knut Vollebaek, the high commissioner on national minorities for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Fico said the law will not change the conditions under which the Hungarian minority in Slovakia uses their language.

The prime ministers did not come to a consensus on how to interpret Slovakia's decision to deny Hungarian President László Sólyom entry to the country Aug. 21. They said experts from both countries will meet and agree on norms for future visits. The governments said they would establish a joint committee to fight extremism, xenophobia and nationalism. A council for Slovak-Hungarian relations is to be established as an apolitical body to help solve bilateral issues, and both men voiced support for a plan to organize a joint session of the two governments.

The Hungarian side initiated the Sept. 10 meeting after tensions peaked when Sólyom was denied entry to Slovakia in August on a private visit (he had been invited to unveil a statue of Hungarian national hero St. Stephen in Komárno), while extremists on both sides of the border have stepped up demonstrations against Slovakia's State Language Act.

Shared responsibility

In an op-ed article titled "With shared responsibility," published by Slovak dailies in early September, Bajnai offered Slovakia friendly relations.

"Hungary plays an open game," Bajnai wrote, adding his country has no hidden agenda or territorial claims toward any of its neighbors.

"Slovakia is our ally, our friend, but there is an extreme force inside its ruling coalition whose philosophy resembles the ideas and relics of the 19th and 20th centuries," Bajnai wrote, referring to the Slovak National Party (SNS), adding, "Unfortunately, it carries along with it also part of the political elite."

As for the amended language law, the main flashpoint between the two countries, Bajnai adhered to Hungary's official line and proposed Slovakia "return the controversial language law to the level of European norms."

He said Hungary is ready to build highways and bridges with Slovakia, publish a joint history book and fight the growing extremism against Roma.

The Slovak daily Sme said it also invited Fico to write an op-ed prior to his meeting with Bajnai but he declined. The head of the Slovak cabinet's press department, Braňo Ondruš, said it was too early to answer questions about the details of the prime ministers' meeting.

High-level meetings of Slovak and Hungarian representatives have been remarkably rare in the past couple of years. Bilateral relations have been tense since the summer of 2006, when the nationalist SNS party joined the ruling coalition.

Long time coming

The last meeting of the countries' prime ministers took place in November 2008, near the border between the countries, when Fico met then Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. One of the main issues was the Slovak police response to disorder at a football match in the primarily ethnic Hungarian Slovak town of Dunajská Streda a few days earlier, during which several Hungarian citizens were injured.

Fico's official meeting with Bajnai, who replaced Gyurcsány in April, had been planned for some time. Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák said upon taking up his post in January that the prime ministers should meet in the first six months of the year. Fico was due to visit Budapest. However, Slovakia's passing of the amended State Language Act in June delayed the meeting.

Bajnai said at the time the amended language act contradicted the spirit of the bilateral agreement between Slovakia and Hungary, as well as other international agreements.

The Hungarian side went on to state it made no sense to meet in such an atmosphere, and Lajčák responded the Slovak side would not insist on the meeting if Hungary was unwilling.

Michaela Stanková can be reached at news@praguepost.com