Radio Slovakia International

Language Law OK by Brussels

RSI

In connection with the Slovak-Hungarian dispute over the amended Slovak State Language Act, Belgium trusts the Slovak democratic system and the rule of law in the country, said Belgian Parliament Senate deputy-chairman Hugo Vandenberghe after meeting with Slovak Parliament Chairman Pavol Paska on Wednesday in Brussels. Vandenberghe, as a former member of the Belgian committee for the application of language, is especially interested in the Slovak-Hungarian language dispute. There are three official languages in Belgium - French, Flemish and German, and he says that problems of this kind can”t be solved by major proclamations. People have the right to use any language they want in private, and the state has the right to decide how many official languages there will be, he said, adding that this has consequences in the public sphere. He didn”t want to comment on the Slovak-Hungarian problem, bur attacks from other countries concerning linguistic issues should be dismissed out of hand.