Balgarianovinite.com The Bulgarian community in Hungary is well-structured and has a network of institutions that ensures its representation and cultural autonomy, said Svetla Kjoseva, Editor-in-Chief of Hemus magazine of the Bulgarian community in Hungary, interviewed by BTA ahead of the Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 12.
According to Kjoseva, Hungary’s nationalities law says that every minority has the right to elect its own self-governing bodies at both local and national level. The National Bulgarian Self-Government is the official representative of the community before the Hungarian state authorities and has the authority to establish institutions related to cultural autonomy, as well as to defend the interests of Bulgarians in the country.
Kjoseva explained that this body appoints a representative who takes part in the work of the Hungarian parliament. “Representatives of national minorities elected in this way have all the rights of parliamentary representatives, except the right to vote,” she said. In her view, the lack of voting rights also has advantages, as it allows these representatives to maintain independence from political parties.
A Bulgarian representative will again be elected to the Hungarian parliament in Sunday’s elections. Kjoseva clarified that representatives of national communities can choose whether to vote for a national or a party list, and exercising one right excludes the other. “The election of a Bulgarian representative itself is not in question, as even a minimal number of votes is sufficient for their election,” she noted, but added that higher support is still important for the legitimacy of representation.
Overall, the Bulgarian community in Hungary, although small in number, is well-organized, Kjoseva emphasized. According to her, around 5,000 people are connected to it in various ways. She recalled that the Association of Bulgarians in Hungary, established in 1914, is the oldest continuously operating civil organization of a national minority in the country. A few years later, the Bulgarian Church Community and a Bulgarian school were also established.
“These are the main institutions, which already have more than 100 years of history,” Kjoseva said. She added that after the 1990s and the adoption of Hungary’s minority law in 1993, the institutional network of the Bulgarian community expanded significantly. At present, there is a research institute, a cultural centre with a library, a theatre, dance ensembles and a youth organization.
As a key challenge, she identified the need to further deepen the activities of these institutions. “It can be said that their expansion has reached a certain limit, and the task now is to work on their consolidation and development,” Kjoseva said.
She gave as an example the cultural and educational centre opened in 2024, built on the site of an Orthodox church from 1931, which combines a kindergarten, a school and cultural spaces. The same building also houses a cultural centre that remains a central hub of community life, and an art gallery named after Miklos Mazsaroff (1929-1997), a visual artist of Bulgarian origin.
Kjoseva stressed that the diversity of activities attracts people of different generations, including many young people. Educational institutions play an important role in this. The Bulgarian school offers education up to 12th grade in language and ethnography, and pupils can include their grades in their Hungarian diplomas and take a school-leaving exam in Bulgarian.
After completing their education, the most outstanding pupils and students can receive scholarships from the National Bulgarian Self-Government. “The idea is to attract and retain them within the community,” Kjoseva noted.
According to her, it is precisely this continuity – from education to cultural and public life – that creates a sustainable environment in which the Bulgarian community in Hungary develops and preserves its identity. Bulgarian Community in Hungary Well-Organized and Institutionally Strong, Magazine Editor Says 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-04-11 13:29:40 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
