Hungary agreed to negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, but “on one condition”

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Anita Orban stated that the negotiation process for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union may be suspended if Kyiv does not fulfill agreements regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia.

This was reported by Radio Liberty, citing a statement by Anita Orban before the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

According to the minister, after several weeks of negotiations between Ukraine and Hungary, the parties managed to reach agreements on ensuring the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians in the areas of education, public administration, use of national symbols and culture.

“A great achievement last week was that this agreement was included in the Ukraine-EU Action Plan on National Minorities,” Orbán emphasized.

She also reported that this agreement was part of the first negotiation cluster, which concerns fundamental rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

“The agreement also includes a so-called joint benchmark, which means: if Ukraine does not fulfill this agreement or does not fulfill it in full, the accession process within this cluster will automatically stop,” the minister explained.

Orban emphasized that fulfilling this condition is one of the key factors for Hungary in the issue of Ukraine’s European integration.

At the same time, she noted that Budapest will no longer oppose the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

“Hungary is once again acting as a European country, defending its national interests,” the minister said, calling the current moment “Hungary’s return” to a common European future.

Orban also added that Hungary does not support any alternative formats for Ukraine’s integration into the EU.

“We support a standard process based on the current enlargement methodology, which is based on results and reforms,” she concluded.

Earlier, “Pryamiy” reported that the European Union believes that Ukraine, with sufficient political will, can complete technical negotiations on EU accession in about four years. At the same time, European officials note that about 15% of the reforms stipulated in the agreed membership preparation plan have been implemented so far.

Slovakia also confirmed its readiness to support the opening of the first and subsequent clusters of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

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