Official: Hungarian CoE presidency prioritises minority protection

Hungary's presidency of the Council of Europe (CoE) prioritises minority protections, a foreign ministry official said on Tuesday. Peter Sztaray, the state secretary for security policy, noted that Hungary is surrounded by countries where there are large ethnic Hungarian minorities, and the country regards support for these communities in cooperation with neighboring states as its responsibility. But minority protection is important for all countries, he added, given that minorities make up a significant part of societies, and it is important that the issue is dealt with at European level.