Hungary and Ukraine have reached an agreement on the rights of Ukraine’s ethnic Hungarian minority, a move that could help advance Kiev’s efforts to join the European Union.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on X that the deal followed three weeks of negotiations and would strengthen educational, linguistic, cultural and political rights for more than 100,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine’s western Transcarpathia region.
“In just three weeks, we have achieved what [former prime minister] Viktor Orbán and his government failed to achieve in ten years,” he wrote late on Wednesday.
Magyar said Ukraine had committed to implementing the changes in law and incorporating them into its action plan submitted to the European Union.
Relations between the two neighbours deteriorated under Orbán, who frequently blocked EU initiatives supporting Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Magyar said he expected the dispute over minority rights to be resolved quickly and signalled his willingness to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Despite the agreement, Magyar said Hungary remained opposed to a fast-tracked Ukrainian accession process. He said Budapest would support Ukraine’s membership if Kiev completed all accession chapters over the next 10 to 15 years and if the move received backing in a legally binding referendum.