Hungary has outlined its conditions for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU

Budapest has released a list of demands regarding the protection of the rights of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine, the fulfillment of which will directly influence the resumption of the European integration process and Kyiv’s accession to the European Union. 

In particular, the Hungarian side insists on the restoration of a fully-fledged school system for ethnic minorities, guaranteeing the free use of the Hungarian language and national symbols, including the flag and the national anthem. This was stated by Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán during a hearing of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.

An additional condition set by Budapest is the right to freely use the Hungarian language in municipalities where more than 10% of the population are ethnic Hungarians. This rule is to apply to the healthcare sector, the holding of various official and public events, scientific conferences, as well as during political campaigns.

The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that official negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU will begin only after all of the specified conditions have been fully met. At the same time, Budapest noted that the process of European integration itself will not be expedited for Ukraine and will proceed strictly according to the standard timeline, with the final stage being a mandatory nationwide referendum in Hungary on Ukraine’s EU membership.

This is stated in a statement by Anita Orbán.

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar expressed his readiness to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The main condition for holding this high-level meeting is the final resolution of the issue regarding the fundamental rights of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine. 

Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar made high-profile statements regarding the situation of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine and the European Union’s future economic relations with the Russian Federation.

The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Hungary, Andriy Sibiga and Anita Orbán, held their first in-person meeting on May 22. During the talks in Helsingborg, the parties agreed to hold a second round of expert-level consultations next week to further discuss bilateral issues.