Hungary on Wednesday lifted its veto on opening two more chapters of Ukraine’s negotiations to join the European Union, paving the way for new progress in Kyiv’s EU integration process.
However, the next step depends on the Ukrainian parliament approving a law aimed at strengthening the rights of national minorities, particularly the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia.
Following an agreement reached at expert level, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is expected to approve the law on Monday. If that happens, Hungary is expected to give its approval for opening the second and third chapters at the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
This would remove one of the main obstacles ahead of the upcoming European Council summit and would also allow Moldova to advance in its accession process, as the two countries’ negotiations have been progressing in parallel.
On Wednesday, Budapest also allowed technical preparations to begin for the letters the Council must send to Ukraine requesting that Kyiv submit its negotiating positions. This represents a formal step toward opening the chapters.
Hungary had previously blocked this preparatory stage as well. Wednesday’s decision is therefore seen as a strong signal that Budapest is prepared to fully lift its veto if Kyiv approves the minority rights law.
The chapters could officially be opened during an intergovernmental conference next Tuesday.
Hungary has long demanded stronger guarantees for the educational, cultural and linguistic rights of around 100,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine.
At the beginning of October, a draft law was registered in the Ukrainian parliament aimed at strengthening the right to education in the languages of national minorities and unlocking the opening of new EU accession negotiation chapters.
The process could still face obstacles, however, as the law has not yet been adopted and the Kyiv government must secure a stable majority in the Rada.
If the agreement goes ahead, it could also pave the way for the first bilateral meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two had previously planned to meet, but Magyar had conditioned the meeting on progress regarding minority rights.
The two new chapters concern the internal market and competitiveness.
