FUEN calls on the EU to act over systematic ethnic-based land confiscations in Slovakia

The Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) expresses deep concern over a recently re-emerging pattern of land confiscations in Slovakia targeting individuals on the basis of their ethnic or ancestral origin under post-war legislation.

These confiscations stem from the post-war enactments known as the Beneš Decrees and their implementation through ordinances of the Slovak National Council — most notably No. 104/1945, which mandated the confiscation of agricultural land from persons of German or Hungarian ethnicity.

For decades, these measures were regarded as historical. Yet recent legal developments demonstrate that confiscation orders issued under these laws are being reactivated and applied in contemporary property proceedings. Many post-war confiscation orders were never formally completed and therefore entered into the land registry. As a result, families lawfully possessed and inherited these properties over several decades. Today, these unresolved cases are being reclassified as administrative errors, with ownership retroactively registered in favour of the state — often without prior notice or compensation.

This is not an isolated development: the Slovak Land Fund continues to examine archival files for unexecuted post-war confiscation orders. Freedom-of-information data obtained by the Hungarian Alliance, FUEN member organisation in Slovakia, show that more than 1,000 hectares of land have been affected between 2019 and 2025. These actions disproportionately affect individuals with Hungarian or German ancestry, including Slovak citizens as well as other EU citizens.

FUEN also notes with serious concern that the Slovak Parliament recently adopted an amendment to the Criminal Code which introduces criminal liability — including up to six months’ imprisonment — for anyone who publicly “denies” the post-World War II settlement, including the Slovak National Council ordinances that form the basis of the current land-confiscation practice. Such legislation risks undermining transparency and poses a serious threat to freedom of expression by discouraging public debate.

The use of post-war, ethnicity-based confiscation measures is incompatible with the principles of equality, non-discrimination and legal certainty. Their retroactive application raises serious concerns regarding compliance with modern European standards and risks eroding trust in Europe’s minority-protection framework and the stability of property relations.

FUEN therefore calls for:

• An urgent, independent and comprehensive investigation by EU institutions into the current application of post-war SNC ordinances (especially 104/1945) in contemporary property proceedings.
• The suspension of all confiscation and land-registration procedures in which ethnic or ancestral criteria play a determining role. Historical legal instruments that were never formally completed should not be applied to contemporary property relations, as such use creates serious legal uncertainty.
• Stronger support from civil-society and human-rights organisations to document the scope of these cases, provide assistance to affected individuals and contribute to independent monitoring.
• Heightened media and public scrutiny, which is essential to ensure awareness of situations in which property rights may be affected on the basis of historical, ethnicity-related criteria — a practice incompatible with democratic and human-rights standards.

FUEN stands in full solidarity with all individuals and communities whose land, identity or historical rights are put at risk, and calls on European institutions, civil society and the media to act swiftly and decisively.