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The goal is to strengthen the rights of Hungarians in Vojvodina

2018. 09. 19.

Press release by Andor Deli

“The purpose of my amendment is that the interests of Vojvodinan Hungarians should appear in the Serbian country report. My goal is that by the end of the accession process, the Hungarian community in Vojvodina becomes stronger in its rights and position, as the EU-Serbia accession negotiations present a window of opportunity for this,” Vojvodinan Fidesz MEP Andor Deli said regarding the 2018 Serbian country report.

“Every year, the European Parliament adopts a resolution that assesses the important steps towards Serbia’s EU accession and highlights the tasks ahead. Unfortunately, previous EU reports have not paid much attention to Europe’s indigenous national minorities. This has characterized Serbia’s country reports, too. Over the years, however, we could achieve that issues affecting national minorities, such as Vojvodinan Hungarians, gain more weight in parliamentary documents. But we cannot be completely satisfied, there is always something to add to the reports,” the MEP emphasized during the debate on the amendments to the country report.

“In my amendments,” he added, “I welcomed the achieved results, but also pointed to the shortcomings of the process. The adoption of laws on minority rights, including the long-awaited amendment of the Act on National Councils, was a major step, and also a prerequisite for the National Council elections in November. The consistent implementation of legislation and minority action plan is equally important. I emphasized the role of proportional employment at all levels of public administration and in the justice system. On top of this, I stressed the importance of official language usage as well as education and information in one’s mother tongue. If we can indeed achieve results in these areas, then the Serbian minority protection law can be exemplary in the European Union.”