Hungarian officials: Relations with Romania have deteriorated

The relations between Hungary and Romania have deteriorated since 2012, said Zsolt Semjén, deputy prime minister of Hungary, and Zsolt Németh, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament. The Hungarian officials suggested that Budapest shouldn’t have tolerated certain attitudes of Bucharest. Asked if the Hungarian part has a responsibility for this situation, Zsolt Semjén said that he has “a clear conscience”, according to the site Index.hu, reports local Mediafax. Semjén and Németh organized a press conference to address Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szíjjártó’s decision to prohibit the Hungarian officials’ participation in the celebrations for Romania’s National Day, on December 1. The Hungarian people have no reason to celebrate December 1, said last week the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szíjjártó. He forbad the Hungarian diplomats in Romania to take part in the National Day events, according to the newspaper Hungary Today. On December 1, 1918, Transylvania, which had been part of Hungary, became part of the newly-formed Romania. Péter Szíjjártó nuanced his statements in a press conference and said that he was worried about how Romania respected the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transylvania. He also said that Romania remains an important partner for Hungary and that the last six months have been the best in six years in terms of bilateral relations. editor@romania-insider.com