Slovakia has passed a law restricting the use of minority languages. Using any language other than Slovak in official business, in schools or hospitals will be punished by a fine of up to 5,000 Euros - around a year's income for the average Slovakian. The law directly contravenes the obligations of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages which requires that parties, at minimum,
undertake to eliminate, if they have not yet done so, any unjustified distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference relating to the use of a regional or minority language and intended to discourage or endanger the maintenance or development of it.(The Charter actually requires parties such as Slovakia to promote and encourage the use of minority languages as an expression of cultural wealth. Eliminating linguistic discrimination is simply the first step)
Slovakia has a substantial Hungarian minority, numbering about 10% of the total population. And they feel specifically targeted by the law, viewing it as an effort to eliminate their language - and them - from public life. It's not a recipe for good ethnic relations - or good international relations, at that. The law has already caused substantial tension between Hungary and Slovakia, which both countries recognise is now getting out of control.
This is not the sort of law I would have expected to see in a modern democracy, let alone one which is part of modern, multicultural Europe. Which language people choose to speak is ont just a matter of personal choice, but also of cultural identity. And it is simply not the state's business to try and change that.
