Ukraine and Hungary strike historic deal on minority rights, clearing path for EU talks
Photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar (Getty Images)
Ukraine and Hungary have officially concluded a historic agreement on the educational, cultural, linguistic, and political rights of the Hungarian community in Ukraine's Zakarpattia region, according to Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar.
"The historic agreement between Hungary and Ukraine on the educational, cultural, linguistic, and political rights of the Hungarian community in Zakarpattia has entered into force," Magyar said.
Although the full text of the agreement has not yet been published, the Hungarian prime minister previously stated that Ukraine committed to a comprehensive settlement of issues concerning the educational, linguistic, cultural, and political rights of approximately 100,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Zakarpattia.
Negotiations on the matter began under the previous government of Viktor Orbán but failed to produce a final agreement.
According to Magyar, his administration was able to complete the process within a matter of weeks while preserving Hungary's long-standing demands regarding minority protections.
"In just a few weeks, we managed to solve a problem that Orbán's government could not resolve in ten years," he emphasized.
The Hungarian prime minister added that Ukraine had formally incorporated its commitments into the minority rights action plan prepared as part of its EU accession process.
As a result, fulfilling the promises made to the Hungarian minority has effectively become an EU requirement as well.
"This means that Ukraine's fulfillment of its commitments has also become an expectation of the European Union," Magyar said.
He added that both the European Commission and the European Council would monitor Ukraine's compliance with the agreement. If Kyiv fails to meet its minority rights obligations, further progress in the EU accession process could be blocked.
Following the political agreement and Ukraine's formal commitments, Hungary gave its consent to open the first negotiation cluster in Ukraine's EU accession talks.
However, Magyar stressed that this is only the beginning of what will likely be a long road to membership. As an example, he noted that Montenegro started accession negotiations in 2012 and has yet to join the European Union.
Ukraine-Hungary talks
Recently, Kyiv and Budapest held constructive negotiations on national minority issues. The sides agreed to continue working under a previously approved action plan, and Ukraine intends to implement part of its commitments as early as this year.
Kyiv is also continuing preparations for a possible meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar.
