Hungary will hold a referendum on giving dual citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living abroad, despite fears this will reignite tensions with neighbouring countries where most of them live and despite the opposition of the ruling parties in the Government.

The way to the referendum

The decision to hold a referendum came after the World Federation of Hungarians (MVSZ) collected more than 200,000 signatures since March 2004 in support of dual citizenship, triggering a legal requirement that the idea be debated in Parliament.

The Hungarian Parliament voted on 13 September to hold a referendum on the issue but it has been challenged in the court by various players across the domestic political spectrum, including the governing coalition. The Constitutional Court then ruled there were no legal obstacles to the referendum and gave the green light on 26 October. President Ferenc Madl has set December 5 as the date for this binding referendum together with another one, on hospital privatisation.

Attempts in the past by Budapest to pamper ethnic Hungarians, like the one in 2001 aiming to grant Hungarian identity cards to ethnic Hungarians living abroad, have triggered fears among its neighbours that Hungary was trying to retrieve some of the influence it lost after World War I.

Hungarians abroad

The referendum plan has sparked concerns in countries neighbouring Hungary which have large ethnic Hungarian minorities. Nationalists in these countries say the planned referendum is a provocation.

Some five million ethnic Hungarians live outside Hungary, mostly in neighbouring countries - a legacy of the carve-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, when Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory. There are up to two million Hungarians in Romania, 580,000 in Slovakia, 400,000 in Serbia and 370,000 in Ukraine.

On the other side, the status of ethnic Hungarians is often exploited by politicians in neighbouring states usually in the run-up to elections, and there have been attacks recently on the Hungarian minority in the Serbian province of Vojvodina. Tension between the Hungarian minority in the Serbian province of Vojvodina has been a particular matter of concern in recent months.

Citizenship requests

There are around 10,000 citizenship requests submitted annually, with a slight but clear tendency to increase. Around 55% are Romanian, 21% Yugoslavian and 11% Ukrainian. The proportion of non-European is less than 1%. Cases are adjudicated by officials of the Office of Immigration and Nationality of the Ministry of Interior. The final decision rests with the President of the Republic.

Potential impact of the law

The eastwards enlargement of the European Union should reduce some of these tensions. Together with Hungary, Slovakia joined the EU this year, meaning its citizens can already move and work freely in different EU member states, while Romania is also lining up to join.

The ruling Socialists (MSZP) believe that the issue of dual citizenship should not be decided in a referendum, and are thus opposed to the motion. The junior coalition member liberal Free Democrats (SZDSZ) reject the proposal too. The opposition Young Democrats (FIDESZ) and the Democratic Forum (MDF) have expressed support for the initiative. Here is to mention that Victor Orban, the ex-Prime Minister from FIDESZ supported a couple of years ago the initiative of the double citizenship. Therefore, FIDESZ can now finally see fulfilled its political initiative that couldn't be put in practice when it was ruling the Government.

On the other side, the leader of the Socialist parliamentary group, Ildiko Lendvai, said that giving citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders could trigger a mass exodus into Hungary, which could devastate the economy. According to a recent survey, one in every three young ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania, in Romania, would move to Hungary if they were granted citizenship.

Getting Hungarian citizenship

Ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders can get Hungarian citizenship today if they move to Hungary, but the process takes up to five years and it's full of hurdles. By law, foreigners can be granted Hungarian citizenship following a successful citizenship exam, which includes a Hungarian-language verbal and written test alongside basic understanding of the Hungarian Constitution.

In any case, whether or not somebody shall become a dual citizen as a result of this initiative depends on whether his present home country accepts the granting of this second citizenship or not. For example, in Ukraine, law forbids dual citizenship, and if a Ukrainian Hungarian is granted Hungarian citizenship, then the person shall immediately be deprived of his/her Ukrainian citizenship. In Romania too people of double citizenship are deprived of certain rights.

If the result of the referendum will turn the initiative into legislation to be put in practice, Hungary will have to ask the EU and the Council of Europe to express their opinion on the issue.

Catalin Gherman
Bucharest (Romania){moscomment}