Hungary granting illegal dual citizenship in Ukrainian consulate

The Hungarian Consulate in the Ukrainian town of
Berehove has been actively granting Hungarian citizenship to Ukrainian
citizens, as revealed by a hidden video published by the Ukrinform news agency
on Sept. 19. The video shows a Hungarian consul performing the ceremony for
granting dual citizenship, which is illegal for Ukrainians, and another
employee instructing the new citizens not to inform the Ukrainian government of
their new status. After taking their oath of Hungarian citizenship, the
Ukrainians received a document of naturalization and registration card as a
Hungarian citizen, the eurointegration.com.ua news site said.

Both the Hungarian Embassy in Kyiv and the Hungarian
Consulate in Berehove declined to answer questions from Ukrinform about its
policy. About half of the 23,000 residents of Berehove are ethnic Hungarians.
The town is situated about five kilometers from the Hungarian border crossing.

In response, the Ukrainian government withdrew the
diplomatic accreditation of the Hungarian consul featured in the hidden video,
who will leave Ukraine, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said on Sept. 20. “We
knew very well that this was taking place, having warned our Hungarian
colleagues. But this is proof now,” he wrote on his Facebook page, referring to
the video. “This evidence needs a reaction.”

As Hungary’s reaction, Foreign Minister Peter
Szijjarto threatened to hinder further Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration process.
“Now the series of attacks have taken on a new level,” he said, referring to
the diplomat’s expulsion. “Hungary is carefully observing events and doesn’t
rule out that in the future, it will be necessary to continue to slow Ukraine’s
integration into European structures,” he said in a statement on the foreign
ministry’s website.

Zenon Zawada: As we’ve
been saying, Hungary’s hostile foreign policy towards Ukraine has been
remarkably similar to Russia’s foreign policy, leading up to its military invasion.
The Hungarian government has found an easy foreign scapegoat in a weakened
Ukraine (after the Russian invasion) to demonize before the public (besides
migrants domestically). We expect Hungary will continue to act with hostility
towards Ukraine, and hinder its Euro-Atlantic integration efforts, for the
remainder Viktor Orban’s prime ministership, or at least four years.