Hungary threatens veto over restitution issues

Source: Tanjug

BUDAPEST -- Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi said Thursday there would be serious problems if Serbia kept its property restitution and compensation law unchanged.

The issue refers to the property seized at the end of the Second World War by the communist authorities of Yugoslavia (SFRJ).

At a press conference held on the occasion of the European Commission's (EC) recommendation to grant Serbia the EU membership candidate status, the Hungarian foreign minister said Budapest might veto the decision on accepting Serbia as an EU membership candidate in December.

“The Hungarian government believes that the law is morally, legally and politically unacceptable and that it causes discrimination of the Hungarian community in Vojvodina,” Martonyi said, adding that Serbia's failure to resolve the issue by December might cause serious problems.

Notwithstanding the demands from Serbia to amend its restitution legislation, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry issued a release late Wednesday welcoming the EC recommendation.