Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons Hungarian Ambassador over Fidesz politician's Facebook post about Szekler flag

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Hungarian ambassador on Tuesday to express their displeasure with the Facebook post of Zsolt Németh, chairman of the Hungarian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, published on Monday, Digi24 reports.

The Fidesz politician wrote: “The Szekler flag will be flown on the facades of Hungarian public institutions until Romania allows its free, unrestricted use on the whole territory of Romania!”

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly rejects the content published on Zsolt Németh's Facebook page, in which he demands the unrestricted, free use of the "so-called" Szekler flag. The Hungarian ambassador in Bucharest was summoned this morning by Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu to the ministry to convey the Romanian side's position," the Foreign Ministry's statement said.

The statement further added that the Romanian legal order stipulates the right of members of all 20 national minorities living in the country to use their specific symbols in private as well as at cultural or religious events.

At the same time, they explicitly stressed that Romania does not have an administrative territory called Szeklerland (Székelyföld) which means that it cannot have an adopted symbol. They add that the authorities operating in the area have the right to use symbols that represent the entire population of the area.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry also strongly reiterates its request that Hungarian officials show restraint in their public statements and recalls the Romanian side's expectation for acting responsibly in the context of the strategic relationship between the two states.

The RMDSZ (the party representing the Hungarian minority in Romania) bill to officially display the Szekler flag in Romania alongside the Romanian flag was rejected by the House of Representatives in 2020.