Hungary's new law which grants ethnic Hungarians easier access to Hungarian citizenship, may reverse assimilation trends in the Hungarian communities of neighbouring countries, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen told MTI on Friday, the day when the new legislation took effect, MTI reports.

The law helps to preserve the nation and prevent its disintegration and strengthen the sense of identity of ethnic Hungarians, Semjen said, adding that Hungary's parliament had "paid off a great debt" by passing the law as the first one right after the new national assembly was formed. He insisted that the law "removes the shame of the spiritual Trianon of December 5, 2005" - when a referendum on whether to grant preferential citizenship to ethnic kin was rendered invalid by low turnout at the polls.

Citizens of Hungary and ethnic Hungarians have "the same roots, same language, same history and culture, and belong together", Semjen said.

Applications for Hungarian citizenship through the new procedure will be received from January 1, 2011. The government expects between 250,000-400,000 applicants in the first year.