After a private visit to Romania that sparked protests from the authorities in Bucharest, Hungarian President Katalin Novak is returning for an official visit, the first at the level of a head of state since 2010. Katalin Novak will meet with President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke, heads of parliament and leaders of the UDMR. The Hungarian president’s visit comes at a tense international moment, with Budapest increasingly isolated over its choices vis-à-vis Russia, and not entirely calm in terms of its relationship with Bucharest. Recently, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, to whom Katalin Novak is politically close, provoked a sharp reaction from Romanian and international officials after racist and anti-NATO and anti-European statements made in Beile Tušnad. This created tension in the Coalition, of which UDMR is a part, which was approached for official clarifications on this topic. If it seems that everything in the coalition has calmed down for now, Viktor Orbán’s case has come before the CNCD, a first for the institution headed by Čaba Astalos, who also recused himself from the case. However, in front of Orbán, even Katalin Novak caused outrage in Bucharest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested against her statements and drew attention to the fact that she cannot appropriate the rights of Romanian citizens, regardless of whether they are of Hungarian nationality. Novak wrote on Facebook after meeting with UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor, deputy prime minister of the Romanian government, that as president of Hungary, “I consider it a priority to represent all Hungarians, because for me it doesn’t matter whether someone lives on the border or abroad Hungarians are Hungarians, period.” At the same time, there is a “strategic freeze” in relations between Bucharest and Budapest, which signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2002. Romanian officials are unhappy with Viktor Orbán’s government’s aggressive investment policy in Transylvania, which exceeds bilateral agreements. During the recent visits of Foreign Minister Peter Sijarto to Bucharest, Romanian Foreign Minister Bohdan Aurescu insisted on signing an agreement that would “legalize” Budapest’s aid. It was agreed, but not signed to date. Hungary’s investment continues unabated, having the indirect effect of drawing the eyes of Hungarians in Romania to Budapest and appropriating its rhetoric. Due to the lack of a coherent strategy/policy of the Romanian government regarding the Hungarian community, the situation, which has been going on for more than ten years, is assessed as a threat to security, including regional security. Especially in the context of the war in Ukraine. h2: Hungary’s important Schengen and OECD vote, Romania’s strategic goals. Even if the president of Hungary does not play such an important role in the constitutional philosophy of his country, his visit is not as irrelevant as it seems. Katalin Novak, the former vice-president of FIDESZ, received strong support from Viktor Orbán to take over the presidency. In this logic, his message becomes relevant. The moment of the visit takes place in an important context for Romania. Our country must achieve two main goals, regarding which Hungary has a difficult say: integration into Schengen, a decision that is adopted unanimously by the member states, and accession to the OECD. In the case of Schengen, given the support of France and Germany, Budapest will probably not resist, but will use all tools to achieve its goals in terms of interests related to the Hungarian community. Also, in the case of the OECD, Budapest withdrew its support in 2017 after the decision to establish a Catholic high school in Tirgu Mures was put on hold. Hungary later revised its position, announcing that it supported the candidacy of Romania, whose file was reopened only this year (the postponement was also linked to PSD’s anti-justice policy). h2: Budapest’s large-scale investment in Transylvania – an agreement not yet signed In a press release announcing the reception of Katalin Novak in Kotroceny, the Presidential Administration states that it will emphasize the “openness of the Romanian side for the consolidation of dialogue” and bilateral cooperation with Hungary, the state, which is a particularly important neighbor, in order to promote projects of common interest for the benefit of the two states and their citizens, regardless of ethnicity.” “The interest of the Romanian side in pragmatic cooperation, focused on specific results, structured on the basis of the principles and values ​​contained in the fundamental documents of bilateral cooperation, will be confirmed,” the statement also reads. The bilateral cooperation documents between Romania and Hungary are the Agreement on Mutual Understanding, Cooperation and Good Neighborship between Romania and the Republic of Hungary (Timişoara, 1996) and the Declaration on Romanian-Hungarian Strategic Cooperation and Partnership for Europe of the XXI Century (Budapest, 2002). For years, Bucharest has claimed that Budapest’s policy towards ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania goes beyond these documents. As HotNews also wrote, in 2011 the Parliament of Budapest voted for a document entitled “National Policy of Hungary – Strategic Framework of National Policy”. The consequence of this “Strategy of the Nation” is a massive investment program through which the Hungarian government put billions of euros at stake, a large part of which went to the Hungarian community in Transylvania. This is the “Kos Karoli Plan”, agreed in 2016 and implemented the following year. In Romania, the Hungarian government finances projects of the Hungarian community through the Pro Economica Foundation, founded by people close to the UDMR. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bohdan Aurescu, has repeatedly complained that the large-scale investments of the Hungarian government in Transylvania do not have the consent of Romania. In 2020, during the visit of Peter Sijarto to Bucharest, the heads of diplomacy of Bucharest and Budapest agreed to start negotiations to sign the agreement. This has not happened until today. However, the program conducted by Viktor Orbán’s government in Transylvania does not comply with both the Basic Treaty between Romania and Hungary and the Report of the Venice Commission on preferential treatment of national minorities of the respective state. The first involves limiting the state’s intervention in the affairs of related minorities only in the spheres of education and culture. In addition, the report of the Venice Commission also talks about these same two areas. In addition, the same document emphasizes the fact that in situations where laws, the application of which concerns related minorities from another state in areas not provided for by international treaties or customs that presuppose the consent of the state in question, it is necessary to ask before applying any measure . However, Hungary did not ask for this. In addition, the implementation of the Hungarian government program by a non-governmental association from another state does not meet the criteria established by the Venice Commission. Regarding the ethnic criteria referred to by the Romanian side, even if the Pro Economica Foundation claims to carry out projects at the national level, they have only been carried out in the counties of Hagita, Covasna and Mures, areas where the percentage of ethnic Hungarians is over 70%.