Budapest dropped its support for Bratislava's bid to host the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) in retaliation to Slovakia's passing of a language law restricting the use of minority languages in the country, a Slovak minister claimed.
"I am disappointed with Hungary, because I remember its position in Luxembourg [in June], which was favourable to Slovakia but has now changed," said Slovak Energy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek after the annoucement of the decision on Sunday (6 December).
When asked whether Hungary's change of heart was related to the spat over the Slovak language law, the minister explicitly replied: "I think this is the reason."
Slovakia's new language law has attracted strong criticism from the Hungarian minority in Slovakia and by the international community at large for violating basic anti-discrimination rules (EurActiv 10/07/09).
"The new law will discourage ethnic minorities from using their own languages," argued Agnes Biró, an member of parliament from the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), which represents the Magyar minority in Slovakia.
Revenge over EU agency?
In June, the EU's Council of Ministers could not decide where to locate the new EU agency for cooperation between energy regulators, ACER, because it lacked a simple majority among the 27 EU member states.
At their Luxembourg meeting, 13 member countries voted in favour of Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital, while 13 others voted in favour of Bratislava, the Slovak capital. As the holder of the EU's six-month rotating presidency Sweden did not vote.
On Sunday, 15 member countries voted in favour of Slovenia and 11 in favour of Slovakia (EurActiv 07/12/09). Hungary voted against Bratislava, attracting criticism from the Slovak minister.
Bulgaria also changed its mind, shifting its preference to Ljubljana after having initially supported Bratislava.
"I am a bit surprised by Bulgaria, which withdrew its support for the Slovak candidacy in the second round," commented Jahnatek.
The Hungarian and Bulgarian permanent representations in Brussels were unavailable for comment.
