On December 11, 2023, our group organized a workshop titeld “Ethnic and Religious Minority Rights in Central Europe: Political Bargain Chip or Genuine Human Rights Concerns?” The aim of the event was to address the violation of the human rights of ethnic minorities in Central Europe, more...
Hungarian Conservative October 6, 2023 Regardless of the eventual shape of Slovakia's official foreign policy, the potential dominance of pro-Kremlin figures in the new government should not be overlooked in NATO's eastern flank. It is a development that warrants the West's vigilance and...
Foreign Policy JULY 18, 2023, 6:00 AM Slovakia will hold snap elections in September—and polls predict former Prime Minister Robert Fico is likely to win. Western nations should be concerned. Anti-Western sentiment is on the rise in Slovakia, and Fico is determined to take advantage of it to adopt...
Managing Director of Europe Strategy Research Institute, University of Public Service, Balázs Tárnok speaks about the new Ukrainian law on minorities. He discusses the shortcomings of the law and international organizations' responses to it. In December 2022, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a new...
Newsweek As Ukraine faces ongoing conflict and strives for EU and NATO accession, the government in Kyiv has drawn criticism from international organizations for its restrictions on the rights of ethnic minorities, including those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation's freedom. As...
Book teaser Can the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), as an instrument of participatory democracy of the European Union, be seen as an effective tool for the protection of the rights and promotion of the interests of persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities in the EU? Can it...
After the General Court of the European Union, on 9 November 2022, confirmed the Commission’s decision refusing to take any action in the Minority SafePack Initiative, the organizers, on 23 January 2023, filed an appeal with the Court of Justice of the EU. The organizers keep fighting for the...
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine not only opened a new era in geopolitics but also affected the political framework for the protection of national minorities. A New Era in Geopolitics Russia’s aggression against Ukraine not only opened a new era in geopolitics1 but also affected the political...
The Visegrad Group is alive and kicking On November 25, prime ministers of the Visegrad Four (Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland) met in Košice (Kassa), Slovakia, the country which currently holds the group’s rotating presidency. Top issues on the agenda were energy security, the...
On June 15, 2022, the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities published its Fifth Opinion on the Slovak Republic. The report criticizes Slovakia, among others, for the discrimination of the Hungarian national minority, and...
Foggy Bottom’s latest report on human rights abuses in Slovakia omits worrisome realities.
On April 12, the State Department published its annual human rights country reports. While certain countries and issues are being strictly scrutinized, serious human rights violations in the heart of Europe are consistently ignored. This goes against America’s own interests and undermines transatlantic unity at a critical time.
The country’s retroactive application of a World War II-era law disenfranchises people with German and Hungarian ancestry.
RealClear Defense By Michael van Ginkel & Balázs Tárnok The Belarus-Polish border crisis shows us that the situation on the Eastern frontier of Europe is escalating once again. To enhance resilience against Russian influence campaigns, Eastern and Central European countries should stick...
The EU Commission recently launched infringement procedures against both Hungary and Poland for the alleged violations of LGBTQ+ rights. While Brussels is standing up for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, it keeps ignoring the challenges other minorities face, specifically ethnic minorities. Not...
The Washington Times In July, President Biden will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House to reaffirm the United States’ support for Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations. While in the U.S., there’s bipartisan support for Ukraine’s NATO accession, the war-torn...
Newsweek Ukraine will be on the agenda when President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Switzerland this week. Ukraine's security got a boost last month when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinkenreaffirmed America's unwavering support for Kyiv's sovereignty. But...
ICONnect - Blog of the International Journal of Contitutional Law In 2017, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) adopted a new Law on Education which limits the right of ethnic minorities to be educated in their native language after the fourth grade. In 2019, the Parliament adopted the...
Ludovika Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement confirmed in a letter sent to MEP Andrea Bocskor that the Union is committed to monitoring the respect of human rights, including minority...
Péter Varga – Balázs Tárnok: European Citizens’ Initiatives for the Protection of National Minorities Abstract: The European Citizens’ Initiative entered into force in 2012 as a new instrument of participatory democracy in the EU. It was inspired by national constitutional developments, and it was...