Hungary links Ukraine's EU bid to restoration of Hungarian minority rights
Photo: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó (Getty Images)
Hungary has set a condition for lifting its veto on Ukraine's EU membership. Budapest demands the restoration of rights for the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, reports Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.
"I had a phone conversation today with my new Austrian colleague regarding the constant violations of the rights of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia and Ukraine's aspirations for integration," the minister stated.
According to him, the situation allegedly remains unchanged.
"Despite constant promises and nice words, the Ukrainian government has still not restored the minority rights that were taken away from the Hungarian community in 2015. As long as this sad situation persists, there can be no question of any progress in negotiations on Ukraine's EU membership," he emphasized.
Hungary's stance on Ukraine
Hungary is one of the few European Union countries that has long blocked Ukraine's EU membership. Additionally, Budapest occasionally blocks financial aid to Ukraine and frequently opposes anti-Russia sanctions.
In October last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Kyiv was preparing a bilateral agreement between the two countries.
Earlier, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary would not support Ukraine on any international relations issue until the language rights of ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine are restored.
Minority issues
Relations between Ukraine and Hungary soured in 2017 when the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the education law stipulating that the state language is the language of instruction in educational institutions. However, according to the education program, one or more subjects can be taught in two or more languages.
This, in turn, repeatedly sparked outrage from Hungary, which accused Ukraine of allegedly creating problems for national minorities in Transcarpathia. Meanwhile, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán regularly made absurd statements.
