Hungary government parties say vote no to dual citizenship

Hungary's ruling parties said yesterday they would ask people to vote against giving dual citizenship to millions of ethnic Hungarians living abroad in a referendum due in December.

The leaders of the ruling Socialists and the liberal Free Democrats said there was not enough information available to make a responsible decision.

The leader of the Socialist parliamentary group, Ildiko Lendvai, told public television that giving citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders could trigger a mass exodus into Hungary, which could devastate the economy.

Five million ethnic Hungarians live outside Hungary, mostly in Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine, a legacy of the carve-up of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I, when Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory.

The decision to hold a referendum came after the World Association of Hungarians collected more than 200,000 signatures in support of dual citizenship.

The referendum will be held on December 5. Mr Lendvai said free movement across the borders was probably the most important for ethnic Hungarians living abroad.

"So let's answer this, let's make free movement easier for them," Mr Lendvai was quoted as saying by state news agency MTI.

She said that according to a recent survey, one in every three young ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania, in Romania, would emigrate to Hungary if they were granted citizenship.

Earlier attempts by Budapest to cater for ethnic Hungarians have triggered fears among its neighbours that it is trying to retrieve some of its past influence in the region.

But analysts say the eastern enlargement of the European Union should reduce some of the tension on the issue.

Slovakia, home to the second-biggest ethnic Hungarian community, joined the EU along with Hungary in May. Their citizens can already move and work freely in different EU member states.

Romania, which has the greatest number of ethnic Hungarians outside Hungary, hopes to become an EU member in 2007.

Ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders can get Hungarian citizenship today if they move to Hungary, but the process takes several years.