Ukraine and Hungary have agreed to hold regular consultations starting 12 May to address Budapest’s concerns regarding national minorities, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna announced on 29 April.
The consultations aim to resolve issues blocking Ukraine’s European Union accession negotiations, Stefanishyna said during a national telethon while visiting Budapest.
Hungary has blocked the start of Ukraine’s European Union accession negotiations by refusing to support the opening of the first negotiation cluster, citing demands for expanded protections for national minorities, particularly the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. This veto, which requires unanimity among EU member states, has stalled Ukraine’s progress toward membership despite broad support from other EU countries.
“We expect to work on the Hungarian side’s counterproposals throughout this week, and by 12 May we hope to have interim results,” Stefanishyna said. “I hope this dialogue will have every chance to pave the way for unblocking the negotiation process.”
The Ukrainian delegation arrived at the 29 April meeting with additional proposals to resolve the entire complex of issues, according to the Deputy Prime Minister.
Stefanishyna said that the Ukrainian delegation did not hear any radical statements or negative comments from Budapest during discussions.
Hungary has presented Ukraine with 11 demands focused on strengthening the protection of national minorities. These requirements must be addressed before Budapest will support Ukraine’s EU membership talks.
Most points are “acceptable,” according to European Pravda reports. However, some demands include recognizing schools with even one Hungarian class as Hungarian schools, removing requirements regarding the percentage of Hungarians needed in an area to designate it as Hungarian, amending electoral legislation to ensure Hungarian representation in parliament, and eliminating requirements for public officials to know the state language.
All 27 EU member states have given the green light to start accession negotiations with Ukraine, but Hungary continues to block the process.
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