Abstract

Both Hungary on the one hand and Estonia and Latvia on the other hand, face important minority issues. Within this perspective, they have all in the past years modified their legislations on citizenship, creating “quasi-citizen” statuses. Concerns that these reforms might cause discrimination once these countries have joined the European Union have led the Commission to interfere in the areas of citizenship and minority rights in an audacious way. The results have been a phasing out of the statuses, currently under process. The question remains of the future implication of the EU in these fields now that the enlargement process is about to be completed.

Gilles Mentré is a French Inspector of Finances. The expressions expressed in this article are his own entirely.