Hungary unblocks Ukraine's EU accession talks following new agreement
Kyiv • UNN
Kyiv and Budapest have reached an agreement on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattia. Hungary has supported the commencement of Ukraine's EU accession negotiations.
Hungary and Ukraine have officially finalized the coordination of a historic agreement regarding the rights of the Hungarian national minority in Zakarpattia. Following the achievement of these agreements, Budapest supported the opening of the first negotiation cluster in the process of Ukraine's accession to the European Union. This was reported by Daily News Hungary, according to UNN.
Details
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that the Ukrainian side has officially committed to fulfilling all provisions of the agreement and has included them in its action plan regarding the rights of national minorities within the framework of the European integration process.
The historic agreement between Hungary and Ukraine regarding the educational, cultural, linguistic, and political rights of the Hungarian community in Zakarpattia has attained official status
According to him, the document provides for a comprehensive settlement of issues related to the rights of approximately 100,000 ethnic Hungarians living in the Zakarpattia region.
Disputes over the rights of the Hungarian minority have been one of the main points of friction in relations between Kyiv and Budapest over the past decade. The Hungarian side has repeatedly stated that changes to Ukrainian legislation in the fields of education and language restricted the rights of the national community.
Magyar emphasized that his government managed to complete the negotiation process in a few weeks.
In a few weeks, we were able to solve a problem that the Orbán government could not resolve in ten years
After reaching the agreements, Hungary gave its consent to the opening of the first negotiation cluster regarding Ukraine's accession to the EU. At the same time, the Hungarian Prime Minister noted that the path to membership will be long, citing the example of Montenegro, which has been conducting accession negotiations since 2012.
It is expected that the European Union will open the first negotiation cluster regarding the accession of Ukraine and Moldova in the very near future.
President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen welcomed this decision. In a joint statement, they called the opening of negotiations an important step forward for the European Union and noted the continuation of reforms in Ukraine and Moldova despite difficult challenges.
European leaders also emphasized that further EU expansion is a strategic investment in the peace, security, and prosperity of Europe.