Hungary and Ukraine agree on minority rights, paving way for EU talks

Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Wednesday that Hungary and Ukraine reached an agreement on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, which could allow approval of the first cluster, or a group of negotiating chapters, in Ukraine’s EU accession talks.

The agreement marks a potential breakthrough in a long-running dispute over minority rights that had strained ties between Budapest and Kyiv and complicated Hungary’s support for Ukraine’s EU ambitions.

Every step of the accession process, which is divided into chapters and clusters of policy issues, requires approval from all EU members.

"We have achieved a breakthrough in our talks with Ukraine about the language, cultural and educational rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority," Magyar said in a Facebook post during an official trip to Paris.

Magyar, who ousted Moscow-friendly predecessor Viktor Orban in an April election, said on Tuesday that he was ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy next week to open a new chapter in relations if a deal was reached on minority rights.

Warmer relations between Hungary and Ukraine are pivotal for the European Union's backing for Kyiv in Russia's war in Ukraine, with Orban having opposed the flow of billions of euros in aid to Ukraine and its EU membership.

While Magyar takes a less confrontational approach to Kyiv, he repeatedly said that progress on the rights of some 100,000 ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine to use their native tongue was essential if Budapest is to agree to Ukraine joining the EU.

Magyar said that according to the agreement, Ukraine will restore a system of schools for ethnic minorities, and children can use their native language in all school settings.

Ethnic Hungarian students will also be able to use the Hungarian national symbols and flags during celebrations and take their exams in Hungarian.

"100,000 Hungarians will get back their fundamental rights," Magyar said, adding that Ukraine agreed to enshrine the terms of this agreement in legislation, and also in its action plan for its EU accession talks.

If that happens, Magyar said, then Hungary would support the opening of the first chapter of Ukraine's accession talks with the EU. However, his government does not support accelerated membership talks for Ukraine.

-Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves/Reuters