The initiative, launched by the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), aims to collect at least one million signatures in seven countries before April 3 to ensure the EU’s increased attention on the matter, he said. Gulyás said that protection for ethnic communities was a national cause, irrespective of party politics.

He insisted that the initiative was symbolic of the principle that “each Hungarian has a responsibility for every other Hungarian”.

Csongor Csáky, head of the Rákóczi Association, noted that the EU currently has no comprehensive legislation “to guarantee the rights of indigenous national minorities”.

He encouraged non-governmental organisations, political parties, church groups and the media to help collect the necessary signatures.

Answering a question on a different subject, Gulyás said it was “not likely” that contested British journalist Milo Yiannopoulos would attend an upcoming conference in Budapest.

Gulyás said the conference was being organised by a public foundation associated with historian Mária Schmidt, rather than the government, and the list of invitees was not final. According to media reports, Yiannopoulos, who has recently been criticised for his remarks concerning paedophilia, was among speakers of the conference.

The Hungarian government condemns paedophilia and “considers madness madness”, Gulyás said.

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

MTI photo: Szigetváry Zsolt