The President of the Slovak Republic, Ivan Gašparovič, recently received the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Knut Vollebaek.

In light of ongoing discussions concerning the implementation of the State Language Act, the Slovak President told his guest that “the Slovak side heard your positions and, although we consider the Act to be hassle-free, your recommendations have nonetheless been incorporated in the implementation principles,” Mr. Gašparovič said.

According to the Slovak President, Hungary’s move to set up a fund for the reimbursement of fines that Slovakia may impose for any possible infringement of the Act was not a fortunate one. “Such conduct is arrogant and invites the breaking of the law of another country. We are a sovereign, albeit young country, but we are trying to respect all principles of democracy. Therefore, we are sorry to see this happening,” the president added.

 At the meeting, Mr. Vollebaek said it was legitimate for a country to attempt to promote the state language as well as achieve the goal that every citizen of the Slovak Republic speaks fluent Slovak. “On the other hand, I have to say that it is the duty of the government to allow members of national minorities to use their mother tongue in education and their every day lives,” the OSCE High Commissioner said. He also informed the Slovak head of state that Vienna will host a meeting of the representatives of Central European countries and, on that occasion, the OSCE hopes to present its recommendations for the use of minority languages.

The meeting will also be attended by Slovak and Hungarian representatives. “We are very happy about our cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic in applying our requirements concerning the State Language Act,” Vollebaek said. He also asked the Slovak side to amend the Act on the Use of Languages of National Minorities to achieve a certain balance. Vollebaek confirmed he had received information concerning Hungary’s fund for the payment of fines imposed on grounds of State Language Act infringement. He aligned himself with Gašparovič’s position that this could be viewed as interfering with the affairs of another state. The Slovak President noted that the state language issue has been politicised, which is not good, as it may escalate tension between Slovaks and Hungarians. “It is our role to settle these relations with Hungary at a bilateral level and by ourselves. It is not good to see these problems internationalized,” the President of the Slovak Republic stressed.