- Press releases
Using the mother tongue in the public administration can cost you 100,000 euros in Romania. This is the case of the municipality of Corund (Korond), a settlement with 93 percent Hungarian population, where the mayor was fined for writing “Községháza” in Hungarian language next to the Romanian "Primaria" on the municipal building. The local council and mayor Mihály Katona did not break the law, as the use of bilingual inscriptions on public buildings is not prohibited by any Romanian law, European or international convention. Intimidating and making it impossible to express the Hungarian identity is an unspoken but consistent state interest in Romania.
FUEN strongly objects any constraint in implementing national and European legislation in Romania and any attempt to intimidate minority communities! The EU has to offer a legal answer for these kind of situations. The Minority SafePack, the successful European Citizens’ Initiative which asks for European protection and support for autochthonous national minorities and language groups is the right solution. We are working for a European legislative framework for the protection of the rights of national minorities.