Péter Magyar links Ukraine’s EU accession to rights of Hungarian minority in Ukraine at Brussels talks

During a meeting with the President of the European Council, Péter Magyar said that his government would only support the launching of Ukraine’s EU accession process if Kyiv granted more rights to the Hungarian minority living in the country. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity, and said that the EU is pressuring Magyar to abandon the outgoing government’s resistance to the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine.

Magyar had previously announced on his Facebook page on Tuesday that he would initiate a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berehove with the goal of "helping the situation of Hungarians in Transcarpathia, to ensure that they can remain in their homeland." The incoming prime minister stated that it was time for "Ukraine to lift the legal restrictions that have been in place for over a decade and for Hungarians in Transcarpathia to have all their cultural, linguistic, administrative, and higher education rights restored, so they can once again become equal and respected citizens of Ukraine". He indicated that resolving these issues could open a new chapter in Ukrainian-Hungarian bilateral relations.

According to Bloomberg, Magyar’s position is expected to cause disappointment in Kyiv and Brussels, where officials had hoped that Viktor Orbán’s departure would give momentum to Ukraine’s EU accession.