Hungary and Ukraine agree on minority rights, paving way for EU talks
BUDAPEST, June 3 (Reuters) – Hungary and Ukraine have reached an agreement on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, which could allow the approval of the first cluster, or a group of negotiating chapters, in Ukraine’s EU accession talks, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Wednesday.
The deal represents a potential breakthrough in the long-running dispute over minority rights, which has strained relations between Budapest and Kiev and complicated Hungary’s support for Ukraine’s EU ambitions.
Each step of the accession process, which is divided into sections and policy issues, requires the approval of all EU members.
“We have made progress in our talks with Ukraine on the linguistic, cultural and educational rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority,” Magyar said in a Facebook post during his official trip to Paris.
Magyar, who ousted his Moscow-friendly predecessor Viktor Orban in elections in April, said on Tuesday that he was ready to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy next week to turn a new page in relations if an agreement on minority rights is reached.
Warmer relations between Hungary and Ukraine are crucial to the European Union’s support for Kiev in Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Orban opposing multibillion-euro aid flows to Ukraine and EU membership.
While Magyar has taken a less confrontational approach toward Kiev, he has repeatedly said that progress on the rights of Ukraine’s nearly 100,000 ethnic Hungarians to use their native language is essential for Budapest to accept Ukraine’s entry into the EU.
Magyar said that according to the agreement, Ukraine will re-establish the school system for ethnic minorities and children will be able to use their native language in all school environments.
Ethnic Hungarian students will also be able to use Hungarian national symbols and flags during celebrations and take their exams in Hungarian.
“100,000 Hungarians will get their fundamental rights back,” Magyar said, adding that Ukraine agreed to include the terms of this agreement in legislation and also in the action plan for EU accession negotiations.
Magyar said that if this happens, Hungary will support the opening of the first chapter of Ukraine’s accession negotiations with the EU. However, his government does not support Ukraine’s accelerated membership negotiations.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves; Editing by Chris Reese and Sanjeev Miglani)
