Speaking on the occasion of Roma Holocaust Day, Balog said that “studying and confronting the past is not only important to acknowledge the crime and take responsibility but also to look toward the future”.

Hungary is proud of its Roma heroes, whether they were Holocaust victims, freedom fighters in the anti-Soviet uprising in 1956 or the ones that supported Hungarians in Romania in 1989, he said.

Referring to his recent remarks associated with Romania’s Hungarian-speaking Roma, Balog said the ethnic Hungarian community in Romania and the Hungarian government need to find ways to help them.

“The decision we made concerning Hungary’s Roma should be taken to help Roma living in the territories no longer belonging to Hungary, too”, Balog said and argued that the move would “create a resource out of what is not yet a resource”.

The government considers Hungary’s Roma community an asset and “handles their fate as a European cause”, he said. The European Union “is seeking to reallocate funds we have won for the Roma, and spend those funds on the integration of migrants”, Balog insisted.

“I trust that Europe will have enough strength to help those who really belong to us, those people who have been European citizens for centuries,” he added.

MTI photo: Balogh Zoltán

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.