Romania’s governing Social Democrats have said they will not back an initiative by the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, UDMR, to create an autonomous region in Transylvania.

The planned region of Szeklerland, or Tara Secuilor in Romanian – home to 600,000 ethnic Hungarians, so-called Szeklers – comprises three counties in central Romania, Harghita, Covasna and Mures. The counties have been asking for autonomy for years.

“The new autonomous region should led by a regional council and an executive council whose president should participate in the government meetings on issues that concern the region,” the UDMR leader, Kelemen Hunor, said. “Hungarian would be the official language in Szeklerland, besides Romanian,” he added.

Romania’s leader said he did not support the idea. “I am not in favour of any form of autonomy for regions inhabitated by the Hungarian minority. I’ve previously said that Romania would address the Hungarian minority’s call for autonomy in conformity with the constitution and European norms,” Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Friday.

About 7 per cent of Romania’s 19.5 million citizens are ethnic Hungarians. The so-called Szeklers have long campaigned for an autonomous region in Transylvania, which formed part of the Kingdom of Hungary until the end of the First World War.

The UDMR has been a junior partner in different ruling coalitions several times over the last 20 years.

Currently, it is a member of the centre-left coalition headed by Ponta’s Social Democrats. As the price of its support, the UDMR has obtained the Culture and Environment ministries, a vice-president’s post and 14 state secretary posts.

Demands for greater autonomy for ethnic Hungarians come in the context of a broader discussion on changing the constitution in Romania.

Among the main changes envisaged is administrative organization, which the UDMR wants to include an autonomous region in Transylvania.

Under existing laws, ethnic minorities can study in their own language at all levels of education, from kindergarten to university.