Hungary has given its consent for Ukraine to begin negotiations with the EU
Hungary has agreed to open the first negotiation chapter on Ukraine’s EU accession following agreements on the rights of national minorities. Budapest stated that this decision was the result of changes to the minority protection plan, agreed upon with EU countries. Now, the implementation of these agreements will become part of the European negotiation process.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that the opening of the first negotiation cluster between Ukraine and the European Union became possible after Kyiv approved an updated version of the national plan for the protection of minority rights. According to him, the document was agreed upon with EU member states and became a key condition for further progress in the negotiations.
Mátyás emphasized that Budapest considers the agreements reached to be important and “historic,” as they concern guarantees for the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. He claims that in a short time, his government managed to advance what had previously remained unresolved for years. “The Ukrainian side has officially committed to fulfilling all the points and has included this agreement in the EU Action Plan on Minorities,” Madyar noted in a video address.
According to him, the fulfillment of these commitments will now be under the constant supervision of European institutions, in particular the European Commission and the European Council. He emphasized that failure to implement the agreements could affect the pace of Ukraine’s progress in the negotiation process with the EU. “If Ukraine fails to fulfill its obligations regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority within the established deadlines, it will not be able to move forward in the process of accession to the European Union,” he stated.
At the same time, Magyar noted that the opening of the first negotiation chapter is only the beginning of a long and complex process of European integration, which involves further stages of coordination and reform. He made this statement in a video posted on his Facebook page.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Mádár may meet in the near future. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that preparations for the talks are underway and that the signals regarding their holding are positive.
As a reminder, Magyar is ready to meet with Zelenskyy next week, but there is a condition.
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.
Earlier, the Hungarian government commented on the massive attack by Russian drones on Zakarpattia, during which the region’s critical infrastructure was struck. Budapest described the situation in the border region as extremely alarming and announced that it was preparing urgent countermeasures.
