Hungarian Snub to Romania Holiday Revives Tension

Romania and Hungary faced fresh diplomatic tension on Friday after Hungary's Foreign Minister told its diplomats to boycott Romanian national day events on December 1.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, a member of Viktor Orban's nationalist government, reportedly told Hungarian diplomats to stay away from celebrations in Romania on December 1 marking the 98th anniversary of the annexation of Transylvania from Hungary.

"Since Hungarian people have no reason to celebrate December 1, the Foreign and Trade Minister forbids all employees of the Foreign Ministry from attending Romania's national holiday celebrations," the statement read.

Romania's ambassador to Budapest, Marius Lazurca, invited Hungarian officials to a reception he hosted on Thursday where he praised bilateral relations, but nobody from the Foreign Ministry came, Hungarian media reported.

Romania's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it was taken by surprise by what had happened in Budapest.

"We are surprised and bewildered by the decision of Hungary ... to forbid its diplomats from participating in celebrations and receptions on Romania's National Day. It is difficult to understand especially since the European Union itself and the transatlantic community are based on a set of values including respect for other countries' national symbols," a statement from the Romanian Ministry read.

Hungary lost Transylvania at the end of World War I following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On December 1, 1918, Romania declared its union with Transylvania, an ethnically mixed region, in which Romanians were the majority.

Since then the number of Hungarians in Transylvania has fallen. However, they are still a majority in the remote rural central counties of...