Regio Volume 8. 2005 [antikvár]

ACCESSION TO THE EU AND CHANGING NATIONAL IDENTITIESThe set of the publications on dual citizenship, national identity, neutrality of the state, minority rights in the European Constitution, and ethnical preferences in the nationality law may illustrate the deeper cleavages inside the political elite and between political parties in Hungary. Three events inspired the researchers to analyze discourses of ethnicity, identity and minority protection: the domestic and international debate around the Hungarian status law in the 2000-2003 period, the referendum on dual citizenship in December 2004 held in Hungary, and the ongoing eastern enlargement of the EU. The interpretations of the researchers are much more colorful than those of decision makers on the possible or unintentional impacts of these events on the CEE region and in European policy Although the authors deal with rather local events, the conclusions are not provincial but rather pan-Euro-pean. As the authors are from Hungary, they especially reflect upon the Hungarian debates. This is in part due to the numerous international debates sparked by Hungary's status law, and hence, their conclusions may be relevant for other states. The task of the Challenge (EU6 framework research programme "Challenge - The Changing Landscape of European Liberty and Security" 2004-2008) is to form certain proposals for decision makers indirectly through further discussions, exchanges and analysis.Judit Toth - Zoltán Kántor