Slovakia has ordered its ambassador to Hungary to return home for consultations in a row over plans by Budapest's new government to offer citizenship to Slovakia's ethnic Hungarians, Bratislava said Thursday. Slovak Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Stano announced the move, coming after Hungary had declined to consult with Slovakia on the planned new law. It was not clear when the ambassador will return to Hungary, dpa reported. Hungary's new parliament plans to take up the bill, under which Hungary would offer citizenship to Hungarian minorities living abroad, at its opening session set to start on Friday. Prime Minister Robert Fico told a press conference on Thursday that Slovakia would take retaliatory steps if Hungary passes the controversial legislation. "Our answer will be very tough," he said. He hinted that ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia who would accept the offer could put themselves at risk of losing their Slovak citizenship. "Granting of such citizenship will be linked to a serious risk for the applicants. The Czech Republic has a law under which accepting another citizenship (leads to) a loss of the Czech one," he noted. Slovakia is a home to some 500,000 ethnic Hungarians, who comprise roughly one-tenth of the country's population. Slovak and Hungarian ties have been chilly since 2006, when the ultra-nationalist and anti-Hungarian Slovak National Party became a junior partner in Fico's centre-left governing coalition. Nationalist issues have played a role in election campaigns in both countries on the Danube. The citizenship law figured among election promises of Hungary's premier-elect Viktor Orban, whose right-wing party Fidesz won the April election. The bill's approval is expected to further strain Slovak-Hungarian relations and boost anti-Hungarian campaigning before the polls in Slovakia set for June 12. Fico called Fidesz' intention to pass the law "egoistic, arrogant and dangerous" and said that Slovakia would take the dispute to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. -- SPA
