Ukraine and Hungary reach agreements on expanding rights of Hungarian minority, Magyar says
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has said that Kyiv and Budapest have reached a comprehensive agreement on expanding the language, educational, cultural and political rights of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattia.
He said this on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.
Agreement reached
"In three weeks, we managed to achieve what Viktor Orban and his team could not achieve in 10 years. We have reached a comprehensive agreement with Ukraine on expanding the language, educational, cultural and political rights of the 100,000-strong Hungarian minority," the head of the Hungarian government said.
Magyar noted that the agreement was the result of "several weeks of intensive Hungarian-Ukrainian talks at the expert level, which also involved political organizations and churches of Hungarians in Zakarpattia."
"It is a great joy to announce, on the eve of National Unity Day, that the Ukrainian government has committed to implementing the agreed measures into its legal system in the near future. Thanks to this, our compatriots in Zakarpattia will have significantly broader educational, cultural, language and political rights than before," Magyar said.
The politician noted that Ukraine’s commitments would also be reflected in its action plan for the European Union. If this happens, the Hungarian government will consent to opening the first negotiating cluster on Ukraine’s accession.
Budapest does not support fast-tracked Ukrainian membership
At the same time, Magyar stressed that he still does not support fast-tracked talks on EU accession.
"If Ukraine manages to close all 33 negotiating chapters within 10 or 15 years, our country will hold a legally binding, decisive referendum on this issue," he added.
