Benedictine monks from the Pannonhalma Arch Abbey in Hungary have approached the European Parliament regarding an ongoing dispute involving the ownership of a mansion in the southern Bratislava borough of Rusovce close to the Hungarian border. The property has been set to host several high-profile events during Slovakia's EU presidency in the second half of 2016.
This prompted the Superior General of the congregation Asztrik Várszegi sending a letter to Brussels stating that the former Czechoslovakia and modern-day Slovakia have both failed to carry out the last will and testament of Hungarian noble Elemer Lonyay and the Belgian crown princess Stephanie, who bequeathed the mansion and the surrounding plots to the Benedictine order. Várszegi stated that if the planned events go ahead in 2016, the representatives of individual EU-member states will find themselves indirectly supporting the Slovak Government in its dispute with the Monks at the European Court for Human Rights.
