Hungary and Ukraine have officially finalised what Prime Minister Péter Magyar has described as a “historic agreement” on the rights of the ethnic Hungarian community living in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region, marking a major breakthrough in a dispute that has strained bilateral relations for years.

Announcing the development on Friday, Magyar said the Ukrainian government had formally committed itself to implementing all provisions of the agreement and had also incorporated them into its European Union minority rights action plan.

“The historic agreement between Hungary and Ukraine concerning the educational, cultural, language-use and political rights of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia has become official,” the Hungarian prime minister wrote on social media.

Minority rights dispute finally resolved

Although the full text of the agreement has not yet been published, Magyar previously stated that Ukraine had committed itself to a comprehensive settlement of issues concerning the educational, linguistic, cultural and political rights of the approximately 100,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Transcarpathia.

The dispute over minority rights has been one of the most contentious issues in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations over the past decade. Previous governments in Budapest repeatedly argued that changes to Ukrainian language and education laws had restricted the rights of the Hungarian minority.

Negotiations on the matter had already begun under the previous Orbán government but failed to produce a final agreement. According to Magyar, his administration was able to complete the process within weeks while maintaining Hungary’s long-standing demands regarding minority protections.

“Within a few weeks, we managed to solve an issue that the Orbán government could not resolve in ten years,” the prime minister said.

EU guarantee strengthens the agreement

Magyar also announced that the agreement had received an important European Union guarantee.

According to the prime minister, Ukraine has formally incorporated its commitments into the minority rights action plan prepared as part of its EU accession process. As a result, fulfilling the promises made to the Hungarian minority has effectively become an EU requirement as well.

“This means that the implementation of Ukraine’s commitments has also become an expectation of the European Union,” Magyar said.

He added that both the European Commission and the European Council would monitor Ukraine’s compliance. If Kyiv fails to meet its obligations regarding minority rights, further progress in the accession process could be blocked.

Hungary backs opening of Ukraine’s accession talks

Following the political agreement and Ukraine’s formal commitments, Hungary has given its consent to the opening of the first negotiation cluster in Ukraine’s EU accession process.

Magyar stressed, however, that this represents only the beginning of what is likely to be a lengthy path towards membership. As an example, he noted that Montenegro began accession negotiations in 2012 and has still not become an EU member.

The Hungarian government’s approval clears the way for the European Union to open the first cluster of accession negotiations with both Ukraine and Moldova on Monday.

EU leaders welcome progress

European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed the decision in a joint statement issued on Friday, 24.hu reported.

The two leaders described the opening of the first negotiation cluster as a significant step forward for the European Union and praised both Ukraine and Moldova for continuing reforms despite extraordinary challenges.

They emphasised that enlargement remains a strategic investment in Europe’s peace, security and prosperity, arguing that a larger and stronger European Union is in the common interest of all member states.

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