The Vice-president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, Mr. Laszlo Borbely, has attended on March 6 the Elections Congress of the EPP in Dublin and talked in a presentation about the perspectives and the challenges of the relations between the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries.

“As one of the Eastern border-countries of the EU and of NATO, Romania, follows with special attention the European path taken by the Republic Moldova and supports Ukraine’s economic development and its territorial integrity as well. We are concerned by the situation in the Crimeea which directly impacts on the situation of national minorities in Ukraine, affected not only by the excesses of Russia, but also by the decision on the cancellation of the law on regional languages”, Mr. Borbely explained in Dublin, in the framework of the panel “Eastern Neighborhood Policy 2.0: Strategy, Human Rights, Energy”, also attended by former prime-ministers and several ministers of foreign affairs of Central and Eastern European countries.

“The EU should finally realize that for countries positioned in conflict areas, the finalization of some bureaucratic paperwork should not be an impediment for enhanced cooperation. The Eastern Partnership has brought a large array of advantages to Ukraine and to the Hungarian national minority living in this country in the last few years. The current crisis needs to be solved through political dialogue. The Hungarian minority of Romania has been witness in 1990 to an ethnic conflict with several victims in Tirgu Mures and has borne ever since the consequences of such an event, so we do know, what it means not to treat such diversions correctly. The example of Ukraine shows that for the stabilization of the region a clear perspective of the future is needed, as well as a united EU stance and strategy”, the vice-president noted in his speech.