Hungary has once again blocked progress in Ukraine’s EU accession talks, saying it is waiting for Kyiv to implement an agreement on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.
Budapest did not approve the screening reports for the second and third negotiating clusters, preventing the accession process from moving forward on those areas.
According to the Hungarian News Agency (MTI), Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Anita Orbán said on Thursday that the government’s position on Ukraine’s EU membership remained firm and that Hungary would not support an accelerated accession process “under any circumstances”.
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Budapest wants Ukraine to implement June agreement
Speaking at the opening of the Conference on Cultural Diplomacy, Orbán said Hungary’s expectations were clearly linked to an agreement reached between the two countries in June concerning the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia.
Under the agreement, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is expected to adopt legislative amendments guaranteeing minority rights in areas including education, culture and political representation.
The deadline for implementing the education-related commitments is 31 December 2026, while measures concerning other areas, including political participation, are expected to be adopted in 2027.
“What we expect is the implementation of the minority agreement negotiated in June,” Orbán said. This means that the Rada must adopt the legislative amendments needed to guarantee the rights agreed upon by the two countries in the fields of education, culture and political representation.
According to Hungarian government information, Ukraine’s government has already prepared the necessary draft legislation. The proposals are currently being circulated between ministries before potentially being submitted to parliament.
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Hungary says its position on EU membership is unchanged
Orbán stressed that Hungary does not support speeding up Ukraine’s EU accession process. She also reiterated the government’s earlier commitment to hold a referendum on Ukraine’s EU membership once Kyiv has completed the accession negotiations.
According to the minister, this position was also made clear during a recent working dinner with European Council President António Costa. Hungary’s latest move means that progress in Ukraine’s accession negotiations remains closely tied to the implementation of the bilateral minority-rights agreement.
A long-running source of tension
Relations between Hungary and Ukraine deteriorated significantly under the previous Hungarian government, with Ukraine’s war with Russia and its potential EU membership becoming major political issues in Hungary.
The previous government repeatedly raised concerns over the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia and at times used its position within EU decision-making to slow or block measures concerning Ukraine.
After Péter Magyar’s government took office, Budapest and Kyiv began negotiations aimed at improving bilateral relations. In June, the two sides reached an agreement under which Hungary agreed to withdraw its objection to the opening of the first negotiating cluster of Ukraine’s EU accession talks, provided that Ukraine addressed the rights of the Hungarian minority.
The latest dispute concerns the second and third clusters. Hungary’s current position is that it expects Kyiv to deliver on the commitments it made in June before Budapest agrees to further progress.
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The deadlines are approaching
The first major deadline under the minority agreement is now only a few months away, with Ukraine expected to implement the education-related measures by the end of 2026. Other commitments, including those concerning political participation, are due to be addressed during 2027.
The Hungarian government says it is now waiting for Ukraine to turn the agreed commitments into legislation. If the necessary legal changes are not adopted within the agreed timeframe, the implementation of the first negotiating cluster would automatically be halted under the terms of the agreement.
