Ukraine has taken a significant legislative step towards strengthening the educational rights of its Hungarian minority, submitting a bill to parliament that would expand protections for minority-language schooling. The move has been welcomed by Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar and Foreign Minister Anita Orbán, although the legislation still needs parliamentary approval.
The bill, registered in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada on 1 October, is expected to be considered later this month. It follows a June agreement between Budapest and Kyiv concerning the linguistic, educational and cultural rights of Hungary’s ethnic Hungarian community in Ukraine.
What would change?
Under the proposed legislation, Ukrainian would remain the language of the education system. However, schools with classes or groups teaching in the language of an indigenous people or an EU-official minority language would be guaranteed the right to use that language. The bill would also create a formal status for secondary schools serving national minorities. Institutions where more than half of pupils receive education in a minority language could qualify for this status.
For Hungarian-speaking pupils, the proposed framework could allow schools to teach national history and preserve elements of their material and cultural heritage, including traditions, symbols and customs. Official educational documents could also be issued in the minority language at parents’ request. Parents would have the right to request an expansion of subjects taught in Ukrainian, provided that at least two-thirds of parents in the relevant class or group submit a written request.
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A dispute stretching back years
Minority-language education has been one of the principal sources of tension between Budapest and Kyiv since Ukraine introduced changes to its language and education policies in the late 2010s. The June 2026 agreement was reached following several weeks of expert-level negotiations involving Hungarian and Ukrainian officials, as well as representatives of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia. The details of the agreement were not initially published, but its stated objective was to expand linguistic, educational and cultural rights.
The issue has also become linked to Ukraine’s European Union accession process. Hungary had previously opposed the opening of parts of the negotiations, while Magyar has said that progress on minority rights is a condition for Budapest’s support for further steps. Reuters reported that Ukraine’s latest bill is therefore closely connected to efforts to advance the accession process.
Budapest welcomes the move
Anita Orbán said the bill followed recent bilateral consultations and discussions with representatives of the Transcarpathian Hungarian community. Magyar likewise said it would strengthen the legal guarantees surrounding Hungarian-language education and the network of educational institutions.
The legislation nevertheless marks only the next stage of the process. Its final wording could still change during parliamentary debate, and its practical impact will depend on how the new provisions are implemented. For the Hungarian-speaking community in Ukraine, the parliamentary process will therefore be closely watched as a test of whether the commitments made in recent months become lasting legal protections.
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The new government also drew the line
Speaking to Bloomberg, deputy foreign minister and state secretary György Velkey shared the new government, just like the previous one, won’t send neither soldiers nor military equipment to Ukraine. Despite the Tisza government’s efforts to join the mainstream of the European Union, the EU and especially the Baltic states’ – due to the closeness of Russia – decided to fully support Ukraine against the Russian invasion. Velkey said they believe it is of utmost importance to guarantee peace within Hungary’s borders, hence their support consists of humanitarian aid and energy supply, not weapons and ammunition.
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