Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Kyiv had agreed to restore the system of Hungarian schools. The agreement also concerns expanding the use of the Hungarian language in education, the work of state institutions, public life and political activity in communities where Hungarians make up more than 10 percent of the population.
According to Magyar, if Ukraine makes the corresponding changes, the Hungarian government is prepared to support the opening of the first stage of the country’s EU accession talks. At the same time, he stressed that Budapest does not support an accelerated path for Ukraine’s European integration. Even if Kyiv manages to successfully close all 33 negotiating chapters within 10 to 15 years, Hungary intends to hold a mandatory referendum that will be legally binding for the final decision on membership.
The agreement followed several weeks of pressure. Earlier, Magyar had demanded that Kyiv expand the rights of Hungarians in Ukraine before backing its EU membership bid. He discussed the issue with European Council President António Costa in Brussels, while within the EU he came under pressure to abandon the line of the previous government, which had opposed the formal opening of talks.
The terms for direct contact between Magyar and Zelensky were also tied to the position on the Hungarian minority. Hungary’s government had reported technical talks on a possible meeting between the two leaders and noted that it could take place if Ukraine met the Hungarian side’s demands for resolving the situation of the Hungarian community in Ukraine.