Nearly half of Romanians still believe Hungary’s main goal is to break Transylvania away from Romania, and the majority believe they are perceived as second-class citizens in the European Union, the latest poll conducted by INSCOP reveals.
The survey found that 78.2 percent of respondents agreed with the following statement: “Romanians are seen as ‘second-class citizens’ in the EU.” Only 20.4 percent disagreed, and 1.4 percent didn’t know or did not answer.
Also, more than half of Romanians believe that some European states block the country’s access to the Schengen Area for economic reasons.
Hungary’s politics targeting Transylvania are not welcomed by Romanians, the INSCOP survey found, as 49.5 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that “Hungary is seeking to break Transylvania away from Romania,” while 43.2 percent disagreed, and 7.4 percent did not know or did not answer.
The above percentage shows a downward trend compared to a similar survey conducted in 2019, when the bias against Hungarians and Hungary’s politics surpassed 60 percent. Of course, the hate speech delivered by President Klaus Iohannis last year – which landed him with a RON 5,000 (EUR 1,000) fine – kept the xenophobic flame burning.
As recently as yesterday, the hate toward Hungarians came out in Pitești when protesters took to the streets to demonstrate against the government’s austerity measures. After shouting a variety of anti-mask and “freedom” slogans, the protesters started shouting xenophobic chants such as “Out, out with the Hungarians from the country.”
It is unclear how these people “found Hungarians” in Pitești, a city with 164,884 inhabitants (according to the 2011 Census), out of which 93.87 percent are Romanians.
