The Szekler National Council has been struggling for the autonomy of Szeklerland by means of law and democracy for over one and a half decade now. The foundation of this struggle is a bill, which would guarantee the self-governance of the region. We submitted this bill to the parliament of Romania twice, which was rejected both times. The Szekler National Council made numerous steps both domestically, as well as internationally, to draw attention to the will of our community that has Hungarian national identity, and lives in the centre of Romania, on a land spanning through 13.500 km2. The Szekler National Council declared the last Sunday of October to be the Day of Szekler Autonomy. On this day, inhabitants of Szekler cities and villages come together to pray for autonomy, and light watch fires in the evening, reasserting their protest against all aspiration aimed towards the assimilation of Szeklerland, and reaffirming their demand for self determination within the state of Romania. This year, on 29 October, the following declaration was read out on these events:

Dear Mr. President!

Catalonia's aspirations for independence have been in the public's mind for weeks. The response to the independence referendum was police brutality, the likes of which was rarely seen in 21st century Europe. The Szekler National Council, through the fate of the Szekler peoples, is well aware of the collective experience of oppressed communities, and expresses its deepest sympathy and solidarity with their Catalan friends.

On Friday, 8 September 2017, representatives of the legal service of the European Commission met with the organizers of the citizens’ initiative on national regions in Brussels. A lawsuit before the Court of Justice of the European Union has been underway on the subject for four years now, since the Commission rejected the registration of the initiative, due to alleged lack of EU competences.

Dear Mr. President!

On November 2014 the Szekler people voted in large numbers for you, contributing to your electoral victory. They did so bearing in mind that as a Transylvanian Saxon you are familiar with both the problems of the national communities living in Romania, as well as the tolerant political heritage of Transylvania. They hoped that under your presidency the way how the Romanian authorities relate to Szeklerland, its specific problems and the Szekler people will change.

In May 2017, the lawsuit initiated by Balázs Izsák, president of the Szekler National Council against the Anti Discrimination Council, former president Traian Băsescu, former Prime Minister Victor Viorel Ponta, George Crin Laurențiu Antonescu as well as Liviu Nicolae Dragnea, has been concluded. The Bucharest Court of Appeal has dismissed the action brought before them by the president of the Szekler National Council.

We welcome the statement of Hungary’s Deputy Prime Minister, Zsolt Semlyén from the last congress of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania: “Should the Hungarians of Transylvania accept that they are not entitled to autonomy, they would be accepting that they are second class citizens of the European Union”. We are convinced that this has to be the basic tone of Transylvanian Hungarian politics in the upcoming period, and that it should also be the key to the much desired truce between Hungarians and Romanians. We also welcome promises on the improvement of relations between Romania and Hungary. The Szekler National Council always believed that good neighbourly relationship based on mutual trust between the two countries is essential to realize Szeklerland’s autonomy and to guarantee the rights of the Hungarian community of Romania.

The Szekler National Council welcomes the successful registration of the “Minority Safepack - one million signatures for diversity in Europe” citizens’ initiative, after a lengthy litigation. With this decision, the European Commission finally acknowledges that national minorities cannot be excluded from the advantages provided by the European Union.

The Szekler National Council considers the initiative to be of use for the cause of Szekler autonomy aspirations, and as such, offers to actively assist in gathering signatures among its sympathizers.