Ukraine expects two negotiation clusters on EU accession to be opened as early as Tuesday, October 13, following Parliament's adoption of the law on national minorities sought by Hungary. This was stated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha after meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán and thanking the "Hungarian side for its constructive approach," UNN writes.
Details
"Today in Luxembourg, on the sidelines of the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, I had a very substantive meeting with my Hungarian counterpart, Anita Orbán. We discussed the most pressing issues on our bilateral and European agendas, exchanged views, and agreed on the next steps. We congratulated each other on the successful implementation of our bilateral agreements," Sybiha wrote.
The Foreign Minister informed his counterpart about the adoption by the Ukrainian Parliament of provisions concerning the education of national minorities.
"Today, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted amendments to education legislation to ensure the rights of European national minorities in Ukraine in this area, in line with the EU's best practices. This was done in accordance with Ukraine's commitments under Cluster 1. Therefore, we are fulfilling them," the Ukrainian minister stated.
Ukraine expects two negotiation clusters to be opened as early as tomorrow, October 13.
"Tomorrow, we expect the EU to officially decide to open Cluster 2, 'Internal Market,' and Cluster 3, 'Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth.' I thanked the Hungarian side for its constructive position on this issue," Sybiha noted.
"I will never tire of repeating this: there is no better way to guarantee the rights and security of Hungary's national minority in Ukraine than to bring Ukraine into the EU as soon as possible. Likewise, there is no better way to bring peace closer to Europe than Ukraine's accession to the EU," he continued.
According to Sybiha, he informed his Hungarian counterpart about "Russia's intensification of attacks on Ukraine's capital and other peaceful cities, deliberately targeting the civilian population." "We also discussed the agenda of the upcoming European Council meeting and EU decisions aimed at stopping the aggressor, forcing it to change its calculations of terror, and bringing it to the negotiating table to achieve lasting peace," the minister said.
"The Ukrainian-Hungarian dialogue is growing stronger, based on mutual respect, good-neighborly relations, and a shared European future in the interests of our peoples," Sybiha emphasized.
Context
On October 12, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in its entirety a bill on ensuring the educational rights of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine and persons belonging to the national minorities (communities) of Ukraine. This is one of Ukraine's steps on the path to EU accession.
Previously, on October 7, EU ambassadors paved the way for the launch of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova concerning the single market and competitiveness. Budapest lifted its veto on the negotiations. Hungary had blocked this step since the summer, demanding that Ukraine adopt legislation concerning the educational rights of national minorities.
Now another EU enlargement "Super Tuesday" is expected on October 13. The European Union plans to hold a series of intergovernmental conferences to advance accession negotiations, including with Ukraine. Approval of the two clusters is expected following the vote in the Verkhovna Rada on national minorities.