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Fico: If SMK MPs Acquire Hungarian Citizenship, They'll Lose MP Seats
Wednesday 26 May 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, May 26 (TASR) - If a Slovak MP wants to pledge allegiance to another state, he or she has no right to represent people in the Slovak Parliament, Slovak Premier Robert Fico said on Wednesday in response to the question whether Smer-SD rules out the ethnic-Hungarian SMK party as a potential future coalition partner.
"If SMK MPs accept the Hungarian citizenship, they will automatically forfeit their mandates," said Fico.
The amendment to the Slovak Act on State Citizenship, set to come into effect as of July 17 this year, will introduce an automatic loss of Slovak citizenship for people who acquire a foreign citizenship. Slovakia's legislation also stipulates that automatic losses of citizenship status won't apply to cases in which people acquire dual citizenship via marriage or birth. Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak confirmed that people who will apply for the Czech citizenship won't forfeit the Slovak one, as the Czech Republic and Slovakia are two succession states - hence, their relations are of a different quality.
Fico stressed that the Slovak amendment won't affect the minority communities in Slovakia. "We feel nothing but respect for these people," said Fico, adding that Slovakia is a sovereign country that won't tolerate Fidesz's policies aimed at restoring the Greater Hungary.
"We can't tolerate a severe violation of rules of the international law and a breach of the Fundamental Treaty between Slovakia and Hungary," stressed Fico, calling on Hungarian Premier-to-be Viktor Orban to take part in bilateral talks.
The Hungarian Law on Dual Citizenship was passed on Wednesday in the Hungarian Parliament, set to come into effect as of January 1, 2011.
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