Az Antall-kormány szomszédsági- és nemzetpolitikája
The Antall Government’s Policy towards the Neighbours and the Hungarian Minorities

Summary/Abstract: The essay summarizes the most difficult element of Hungary’s foreign policy following the collapse of communism: the attitude and steps towards the neighbouring countries and the 2.5 million Hungarians who were separated from Hungary by the Peace Treaty of 1920 (Trianon) and its confirmation at Paris (1947). A detailed exposition of the subject appeared in Hungarian in 2016 by the author (Kísérlet a trianoni trauma orvoslására. Magyarország szomszédsági politikája a rendszerváltozás éveiben. Osiris Kiadó, Bp., 2016). The centre-right coalition’s aim was to be on the best possible terms with all the neighbours, while promoting the political, linguistic and cultural rights of the Hungarian communities, who survived many decades of ill-treatment and denial of basic rights. The wishedfor model was Switzerland with its autonomous Kantons and the position of the Austrian minority in South Tyrol, in Italy and the Swedish in Finland. The most promising way to achieve that was the adoption of binding international conventions adopted by the Council of Europe and the CSCE, and bilateral treaties with all the neighbouring states. Their most important elements were mutually renouncing territorial claims and safeguarding the collective rights of the minorities. With the break-up of Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia József Antall’s government concluded such treaties with the Ukraine, Croatia and Slovenia. Similar efforts with Romania and Slovakia did not bring the hoped-for results.

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