A bill on schools for national minorities has been introduced in the Verkhovna Rada
Bill No. 16119, which introduces a new status for educational institutions—“national minority school”—has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada. Serhiy Babak, chairman of the relevant committee, stated that this decision is related to agreements with Hungary and should help unblock the opening of two negotiation clusters regarding Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
Bill No. 16119 was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on October 1. Its full title is “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Guarantee of Educational Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine and Persons Belonging to National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine.” One of the main proposals is to introduce a new status: “national minority school.”
According to Serhiy Babak, this status will be available to schools where more than half of the students are taught in the language of the relevant national minority. This threshold, the MP said, was the result of a revision of previous agreements with the Hungarian side. Babak explained that initially, the requirement was significantly lower. Under the preliminary agreement, even a single class where children are taught in the language of a national minority would have been sufficient.
In the committee chair’s view, this could have created a strange situation. For example, a school with 1,000 students could have had just one class with five children studying in the language of a national minority. At the same time, the entire school would receive the corresponding status. “The requirements for determining this status were too high. Let me remind you that, under our legislation, a class can be formed with as few as five children,” Babak explained.
He also drew attention to another problem. Children from several national minorities could be studying in the same region—for example, Hungarian and Romanian. “This raises the question: how do we determine which national minority’s school it will be?” said the MP. Therefore, in the final proposal, it was decided to establish a clearer criterion: more than half of the students must be taught in the language of the relevant national minority.
What Does Hungary Have to Do With It?
Serhiy Babak called the new provision one of Hungary’s conditions for unblocking Ukraine’s further progress toward the European Union. According to him, the Ukrainian and Hungarian sides agreed on a compromise. Babak asserts that once the law is passed, Hungary must not block the opening of the next two negotiation clusters regarding Ukraine’s accession to the EU. “We agreed that we would pass this law, after which the next two negotiation clusters are to be opened, and Hungary, for its part, will not block this process—that is, it will lift its veto,” he stated.
At the same time, this is the Ukrainian parliamentarian’s position regarding the agreements reached. The bill itself is currently only under consideration in the Verkhovna Rada. The document was registered in parliament on October 1. Its sponsors included, among others, Ruslan Stefanchuk, Oleksandr Kornienko, Olena Kondratyuk, Serhiy Babak, and other members of parliament.
Babak called the decision a compromise
The committee chair believes that the status of a national minority school does not pose a threat to Ukrainian education. According to him, similar mechanisms exist in Hungary and other European Union countries. That is precisely why the Ukrainian side views the new status as a compromise solution. “Therefore, there is no threat whatsoever in the very introduction of such a status,” Babak stated.
He also thanked the Hungarian side for its willingness to negotiate. According to the MP, the proposed option has already been publicly welcomed by Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Orbán.
Babak himself had previously described the bill as a solution that would simultaneously ensure the educational rights of national minorities and help Ukraine remove one of the obstacles on its path to the EU.
When Might the Rada Consider the Bill?
According to Babak, the relevant committee plans to review the bill this week. If it receives support, the document is expected to be brought to the plenary session next week. Babak stated that lawmakers plan to vote on it immediately—both on the main provisions and as a whole.
In other words, this is not yet about amendments that have already been adopted, but rather a bill that still needs to go through the parliamentary process.
Civil society organizations are urging caution
At the same time, the initiative has already sparked debate among civil society organizations. More than 25 organizations and initiatives have called on the government and parliament to pursue language policy in a consistent and systematic manner. As stated in a joint statement, they oppose the hasty adoption of individual decisions under external pressure.
Activists emphasize that the issue of education in the languages of national minorities should be considered alongside the state’s broader language policy. In particular, they call for attention to be paid to Bill No. 15412 on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language. This bill was registered on July 15, 2026, and the relevant committee recommended that Parliament adopt it as a basis for further refinement.
In a joint statement, civil society organizations noted that they could agree to the adoption of the draft law on education for national minorities as a way to unblock negotiations with the EU. At the same time, they oppose a situation where, in their view, language laws are amended piecemeal and without a comprehensive approach. Thus, Bill No. 16119 could become part of the agreements between Ukraine and Hungary regarding European integration. However, the final decision has yet to be made by the Verkhovna Rada.
