Lorant-Gyorgy Vincze is a former journalist and European Parliamentary Assistant prior to his election as an MEP in 2019 on the lists of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ). His party promotes the interests of the Hungarian minority in Romania, collaborating both with right-wing and left-wing governments over the years.
He often comments on minority rights in the European Union. He has expressed concern with regard to the lack of dialogue between the “Romanian majority and the Hungarian minority” in Romania, as well as the deliberate action of Romanian MPs to “curtail existing rights” of the Hungarian minority, through a vote on an amendment to the Administrative Law allegedly prohibiting the display of certain Hungarian symbols. On the topic of the inclusion of the Roma minority, he deemed the present situation “unacceptable” and called for more action to address “hunger, extreme poverty and severe housing deprivation” for these communities in CEE countries. He has criticised the decision of the European Commission not to propose new legislation inspired by the Minority Safe Pack citizen initiative, stating that it has essentially “turned its back” on minorities.
He has positioned himself against the initiative to trigger Article 7 in the context of democratic backsliding in Hungary and Poland, suggesting that this action has a potential to undermine trust in the European Union itself as it is an expression of a double standard affecting the two CEE countries. On issues such as migration and the refugee crisis, Mr. Vincze has pronounced himself in favour of a solution focusing on an EU-Turkish collaboration towards completely stopping the influx of refugees through the Greek-Turkish border.
(Updated: 13/7/2021)
