Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kaliňák openly defended ethnically-based land grabs in an April 22 public radio interview, asserting that the Slovak state is not seizing property but merely “reclaiming” land allegedly used unlawfully since 1945.

His remarks effectively endorse the continued application of the post-World War II Beneš Decrees, which collectively assigned guilt to ethnic German and Hungarian populations. Although often considered a historical issue, these decrees have in practice remained the legal basis for the Slovak Land Fund to confiscate property from descendants of these minorities without compensation.

Péter Őry, vice president of the Hungarian Alliance (Magyar Szövetség), condemned the practice and called on Slovak Land Fund CEO Richard Šmída to “immediately halt the process,” describing it as illegal, unconstitutional, and a direct threat to legal certainty (Ma7.sk, April 23, 2026).

While the intensification of land confiscations since 2018 has been known, legal experts in Slovakia have recently traced such expropriations back to 1991, in the Czechoslovak state. On April 23, the Hungarian Alliance published data indicating that 5,388 properties across Slovakia could be subject to state seizures under the Beneš Decrees. A corresponding map shows that most of these land parcels are located in southern Slovakia, where the country’s largest national minority, ethnic Hungarians, reside.

The implications are far-reaching. Kaliňák’s remarks suggest that thousands of current property owners could face dispossession —now regardless of ethnicity—as ownership of these lands has often changed hands multiple times over generations through legal sale or inheritance.

Evidence abounds on the use of EU funds in projects using confiscated properties

The issue also raises concerns at European levels. An 87-page submission by legal experts to the European Parliament documents cases in which EU-funded development projects have been carried out on land subject to these disputed claims. This not only highlights potential violations of fundamental property rights but also calls into question compliance with EU funding rules, which require clear and secure ownership. In sum: Kaliňák’s statement underscores a broader and deeply troubling reality: that collective guilt and discriminatory policies rooted in the aftermath of World War II continue to shape state action in an EU member state today—placing legal certainty, minority rights, and respect for fundamental rights at risk.

Please follow and like us: