János Árpád Potápi promised to continue the national policy launched over the past twelve years, on Monday in the National Cohesion Committee of the National Assembly. The Minister of State for National Policy said that that the borders of the Hungarian nation and the country have not coincided for the past 102 years, and therefore the Hungarian government must take care of Hungarians living beyond the borders.
He pointed out that the Hungarian nation is now united again in public law as more than 1 million 150 thousand people living in surrounding countries have now been given back their Hungarian citizenship, he said.
János Árpád Potápi, File Photo: MTI/Krizsán Csaba
Communities have been rebuilt, and strong institutions have been established in Serbia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania and in the world-wide diaspora. So far, construction and renovation of 900 kindergartens and nurseries has been completed. Education aid sent by the government in Budapest has reached 225,000 pupils from abroad. He confirmed that the amount of grants will increase by orders of magnitude in 2023.
The “Without Borders” program has also been relaunched and support has been given to a number of cultural programs, he said. The work of 123 minority and diaspora organizations is supported through the Sándor Kőrösi Csoma and Sándor Petőfi programs. A new scholarship program for young diaspora people to support their higher education in Hungary is also being launched.
Since 2015, several major economic development programs have been launched, with more than 60,000 entrepreneurs benefiting from nearly HUF 201 billion (EUR 480 million) in development funds. This has resulted in more than HUF 390 billion of investment in the Carpathian Basin.
In parallel, support for families is also taking place,” he said. He added that they are the communities of the nation, so it is very important to think together to strengthen families. So far, 42,000 families from abroad have applied for maternity support, 38,000 have applied for the baby voucher and 20,000 baby kits have been handed out.
The historic Turul-bird statue in Mukachevo before its removal by Ukrainian local authorities, Photo: Twitter
There was a united stand for the Western Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia, Potápi added. The Transcarpathian Social Program continued, providing assistance to 8,200 people. However, atrocities continue to be committed against Hungarians there by Ukrainian officials, including the demolition of the statue of the Market Square in Mukachevo in October. This action is outrageous, unacceptable and unfair to those who took in the Ukrainian IDPs. The move is also an insult to Hungary, he noted, and referred to the widespread support for Ukrainian refugees. He noted that not even a single thank you for this assistance has been expressed at the top government level.
Vice President Zsolt Molnár (MSZP) said that the Hungarian government was perhaps more tolerant than it should have been in this matter, and that he sees room for improvement in the diplomatic steps it has taken. He said that this was not the way to go, that it was an extremely impolite and uncivil solution on the part of the Ukrainian officials.
Featured Photo: Pixabay
