FM Szijjártó: Kiev must fulfil its international obligations
“Hungary will not sacrifice the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia on the altar of world politics and will stand up to all attempts to place the Hungarian Government’s standpoint on Ukraine’s European aspiration into a mistaken geopolitical context”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared in Brussels of Friday following a summit of EU and Eastern Partnership countries’ heads of state and government.
“The decision is up to Ukraine, because if European and Euro-Atlantic integration is truly important to Ukraine, then it must fulfil its international obligations. It must retract its new Education Act, which violates the rights of minorities. If it does so, it can once again count on Hungary’s loud support, but not until then. There will be no change in this standpoint until Ukraine reinstates the rights of the Hungarian minority”, he underlined.
“In view of the fact that Hungary was one of the loudest supporters of Ukraine’s integration aspirations, it regarded the Ukrainian decision as a stab in the back, since the new Education Act was adopted by Parliament only 4 days after the association agreement came into force.
Hungary would be happy to support Ukraine’s integration aspirations in future, but that is currently impossible”, Mr. Szijjártó explained.
“We cannot and do not support these aspirations in view of the fact that Kiev is trampling on minority rights and has grossly violated the association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine, which came into force in early September”, he said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade told reporters: “As proof of the fact that this is not an exclusively Hungarian-Ukrainian issue, on Friday the Brussels summit adopted a joint statement in which, in accordance with Hungary’s aspirations, is stated: Respect for the already gained rights of national minorities must be assured in accordance with the conventions and decisions of the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Minorities must remain free from discrimination and the decisions of the Council of Europe must be fully conformed to”.
The adopted closing document opens a new chapter in the situation that has arisen because of Ukraine’s Education Act, because
this is the first time that the EU has put forward a unified stance in support of previously acquired rights within the field of education.
The significance of the event lies in the fact that Ukraine had no choice but to also adopt the document, he highlighted.
“However, the fact that Kiev has stated in advance that if the decision of the Venice Commission is unfavourable then they will not act according to the included recommendations raises doubts with relation to the rule of law in Ukraine. This is why it is an important step that the European Union, in agreement with its Eastern Partners, has now stated that the already acquired rights of national minorities cannot be removed”, the Hungarian Foreign Minister said.
Foreign minister: Eastern partnership countries deserve positive feedback
The European Union should give continuous positive feedback to Eastern Partnership countries, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told leaders of the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries at a summit in Brussels on Friday. Pursuing cooperation with these countries is in the political, economic, energy and security interests of the bloc, he said.
At a press conference, Szijjártó said Hungary’s position is that the EU can only regain its strength and competitiveness if it “gets as many allies, strategic partners and friends as possible”. Hungary strongly supports the enlargement process, as “the more countries there are in the EU, the stronger the bloc will be”.
“Hungary has always advocated an ambitious Eastern Partnership programme encouraging participants in their aspirations,” Szijjártó said, adding that with no positive feedback, “political forces with a European direction” will lose support and credibility in eastern Europe. That is why, he said, Hungary supports the EU’s association and no-visa agreements with Georgia and Moldova. Hungary supports talks with Azerbaijan aimed at a framework agreement, as well as lifting the EU’s sanctions against Belarus, Szijjártó said. Hungary also supports the EU’s renewed partnership agreement with Armenia, he added.
Answering a question, Szijjártó denied allegations that he would replace János Lázár as head of the government office. He also dismissed suggestions that his ministry of foreign affairs and trade could be split after next year’s elections.
Meanwhile, on the topic of Ukraine and its education law, Szijjártó said
Hungary would not “sacrifice” ethnic Hungarians living in western Ukraine “on the altar of world politics”.
Any attempt to place the Hungarian government’s position on Ukraine in a misguided geopolitical context will be resisted, he told the press conference.
Ukraine is in a decision-making position, he said, because if it truly cares about European and Euro-Atlantic integration, it must fulfil its international obligations. The country must revoke its education law that violates the rights of minorities, the minister said, adding it could count on Hungary’s staunch support as soon as it remedies the situation.
Szijjártó insisted that Ukraine’s education law was not an issue between Hungary and Ukraine but posed a European problem. Friday’s summit, he added, adopted a joint declaration in which participants urged that acquired rights of ethnic minorities should be enforced in line with decisions and conventions by the United Nations and the Council of Europe. It must be ensured that there is no discrimination against ethnics and decisions by the Council of Europe are fully implemented, Szijjártó added.
The closing document of the summit opens a new chapter, Szijjártó said, as it reflects the EU’s “unanimous support for upholding ethnic minorities’ acquired education rights”. He also pointed out that “Ukraine had no choice but accept the document”, but added that the Ukrainian government had made it clear that they would not follow recommendations by the Venice Commission should they find those suggestions unfavourable.
Featured image: MTI
Migration, terrorism, hybrid threats in focus at parliamentary NATO conference
Mass migration, terrorism, hybrid threats, fake news and growing nationalism in Ukraine were in focus at the 21st International Parliamentary NATO Conference organised in Budapest on Thursday.
In his opening address, deputy parliamentary speaker Csaba Hende said international relations were characterised by uncertainty and unpredictability. In recent years, the threats facing the Euro-Atlantic region have grown more serious and complex, he told the conference.
Threats like hybrid warfare, mass migration and its links to terrorism require new, joint solutions from NATO member states, Hende said.
He said cyberspace has become one of the most critical “battlefields” in the world today on which attacks can range from the disruption of the decision-making mechanisms of countries to serious attacks on a country’s critical infrastructure.
The former defence minister said that 50,000 people fall victim to cyber crime every hour. Citing estimates, he said 4 billion people are expected to be online and some 76 billion smart devices are expected to be in use by 2020.
He said that online anonymity and today’s modern communications tools allow terrorist organisations to reach and potentially recruit more and more young people.
Hende highlighted the importance of social support for combatting the threat of terrorism and hybrid threats.
Péter Siklósi, the defence ministry’s deputy state secretary for defence policy, said that significant economic, demographic, military and environmental changes in the world have worsened the global security situation over the past years. Social media has at the same time become a platform for information “warfare”, he noted.
Siklósi said the number of so-called “fallen regimes” was expected to increase in the future, adding that in the post-Soviet and Balkan region, “frozen” conflicts were expected to re-open and new ones would develop.
Hungary is in a difficult situation, he said, noting that neighbouring Ukraine is tackling enduring hybrid warfare.
Europe, as a continent, faces the task of tackling a long-term migrant crisis over the coming years, he added.
NATO, including Hungary, must therefore bolster its efforts to prepare for all possible threats, Siklósi said.
Foreign ministry state secretary Levente Magyar said the Hungarian government welcomed NATO’s decision to boost its role in the fight against international terrorism. Hungary is taking part in this fight and will increase the number of Hungarian soldiers stationed in Iraq by 30 percent, to 200, from next year.
The Euro-Atlantic region faces several challenges, including illegal migration and terrorism, Magyar said.
Additionally, there are signs that extreme nationalism is growing in Ukraine. Besides increased support for the new Ukrainian education law, which hurts the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority, nationalist extremists have recently taken action against ethnic minorities, he said. Magyar called for international action, adding that Hungarians are not the only ones affected; Ukraine’s relations with its other neighbours are also problematic as a result.
Rasa Jukneviciene, vice president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, said that tasks included more effective action against those distributing fake news and propaganda. She said that amid the current security environment, threats posed by Russia in hybrid warfare should be interpreted as “the Kremlin’s warfare against the West”. She made special mention of Russia’s impact on the media and attempts to influence elections in other countries. The Euro-Atlantic community is in hybrid conflict with “Putin’s Russia”, she said, adding that the Russian president was focusing on “weakening Euro-Atlantic security”.
Featured image: MTI
Hungary is working on a solution to the Ukraine education law
Hungary will continue to do everything in its power to ensure a solution is found to the standoff around Ukraine’s education law which places restrictions on minorities studying in their mother tongue, a parliamentary official said on Saturday.
Zsolt Németh, Chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told a news conference that Hungary had turned to a number of European Union bodies in connection with its complaint against Ukraine. Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, has sent a letter to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which could play a significant role in resolving the situation in Ukraine, he said. In addition, Németh said it had turned to Stella Kiriakidis, head of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and Thorbjorn Jagland, the body’s Secretary General, asking them to examine the situation.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Jagland in Gothenburg on Friday, and both officials discussed the matter. Both were in agreement to a large extent concerning their assessment, he added.
Further, at the initiative of Hungarian MPs, the President of the European Parliament has sent a letter to Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine, making it clear that
the education law was contrary to Ukraine’s EU and international obligations.
They called on Ukraine to implement the Venice Commission’s forthcoming recommendations.
Németh also noted that several Hungarian localities in western Ukraine had experienced intimidating behaviour, and a local paramilitary organisation had gone about tearing down Hungarian flags. He said this kind of intimidation of minorities was unacceptable in a state governed by the rule of law, he added.
He noted that the Ukraine issue will be on the agenda of the Council of Europe’s standing committee next week, and the Venice Commission will publish its recommendations on Dec. 9.
The issue transcends minority rights and concerns whether Ukraine is turning its back on Europe and going back to the post-Soviet world, he said.
Deputy PM: Máért promotes Minority SafePack, adopts closing statement
The 16th session of the Hungarian Permanent Conference (Máért) representing Hungarian organisations around the world unanimously adopted a closing statement on promoting the Minority SafePack European citizens’ initiative in Budapest on Friday.
The statement defines it as a priority that the initiative calling upon the European Union to improve the protection of persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities and strengthen cultural and linguistic diversity in the Union should be supported with the most possible signatures in Hungary, its neighbouring countries and the Hungarian diaspora, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén told a press conference. On this occasion, he signed the initiative, too.
Hunor Kelemen, leader of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, thanked the Máért member organisations for supporting the minority initiative.
He said that although it was hard to expect any move by the EU overnight, there was hope that Brussels would in the end give more consideration to the 50 million people who live as indigenous minorities in the bloc’s member states today.
Concerning other issues on the agenda, the participants protested against the recently adopted Ukrainian education law that violated European norms by restricting minority education rights.
The statement, which also incorporates proposals by opposition parties, expressed concern over further restrictions of minority rights by the new Ukrainian draft laws that would rewrite the rules of language use and citizenship.
Semjén said Máért unanimously rejected the recent proposal by Hungarian opposition DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány that dual Hungarian citizens living in another country should be stripped of their voting rights in Hungary.
Máért welcomed that
more than one million applications had been submitted for Hungarian citizenship
under the government’s fast-track citizenship scheme over the past six and a half years.
Máért dedicated 2018 to ethnic Hungarian families living beyond the borders. It was also agreed that 2018 would be a memorial year for medieval Hungary’s King Matthias Corvinus.
featured image: MTI
Hungary’s FM meets Greek counterpart in Athens
Hungary will maintain its close cooperation with Greece in terms of ethnic or religious minority rights, the Hungarian foreign minister told MTI by phone on Monday, following talks with his Greek counterpart in Athens.
At the talks, held on the sidelines of a conference focusing on cultural and religious pluralism in the Middle East, Péter Szijjártó and Nikos Kotzias agreed that “there should be no concessions concerning acquired minority rights”.
Szijjártó noted that the foreign ministers of Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece had jointly appealed to EU leaders and Ukraine against that country’s education law, which impacts its ethnic minorities.
The Greek government, similarly to Hungary’s, pays increased attention to the protection of Christians in the Middle East, he said.
“We must make it clear that we cannot let Christian communities in the Middle East or in other crisis zones be jeopardised or expelled from their homes,” Szijjártó said.
Photo: MTI
Russian Foreign Ministry: Moscow and Budapest are concerned about Kiev’s “Ukrainization” policy
Moscow and Budapest are concerned about Kiev’s policy of total “Ukrainization” of the country writes the Russian foreign ministry following the meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Tyitov, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Zsolt Csutora in Budapest.
The Russian foreign ministry informed TASSZ news agency that the parties agreed that the Ukrainian crisis must be resolved in the context of the Minsk agreement, which doesn’t have alternative.
They expressed their deep concerns over Kiev policy of total “Ukrainization” of the country and its detrimental impact on Ukraine‘s national minorities.
According to the Russian foreign ministry, the parties agreed on several global issues as well, including the peaceful settlement of the Syrian and Korean crisis as well as the peaceful resolution of Western Balkan issues.
Russia and Hungary are committed to the defence of Christian values and the values of European civilization, which are the key to “normal development of society and prosperity for future generations”.
The parties also reviewed issues of bilateral relations and Russia’s relations with the EU and NATO;
they discussed the timetable for political contact and the perspectives of bilateral cooperation.
According to the Russian foreign ministry, the parties have emphasized their interest in deepening commercial and economic cooperation, including joint implementation of atomic energy and gas infrastructure projects.
Hungary vetoes NATO-Ukraine Commitssion session
Hungary has prevented a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission from being held on December 6, news portal Origo reported on Friday.
According to the portal, the Hungarian move was motivated by Ukraine’s education law, which impacts national minorities in that country.
Origo said that Hungary’s veto was a “huge blow” for Ukraine, which aspires for NATO membership.
The Hungarian government made it clear earlier that it would thwart Ukraine’s efforts at international forums unless that country throws out relevant stipulations.
Hungary refuses support for Ukraine’s integration efforts
Hungary refuses to support Ukraine’s integration efforts and this is why it has vetoed the convening of the December meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday.
Up until early September, Hungary had been among the “loudest and most active supporters” of Ukraine’s integration efforts but the approval of the Ukrainian education law has been seen by Hungary as a “stab in the back”.
“We would still be happy” to support Ukraine’s integration efforts but Hungary will only support countries whose decisions and behaviour justify this, he added.
When Ukraine’s parliament approved the education law, Hungary immediately stated that all diplomatic means would be used to make Ukrainian legislators withdraw the legislation which “brutally violates” the rights of ethnic minorities living in the country. The law represents a serious step back in the area of minority rights which “must not be left unmentioned”, Szijjártó said. At the same time, he said, Hungary is still open to consultations.
“The stakes are high” since the drafts for a new language law and citizenship law are currently on the agenda of Ukraine’s parliament and represent a threat to the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine, he said. Hungary’s failure to take action now could be interpreted as an encouragement for Ukraine to approve the bills, he said.
Hungary will continue to take further diplomatic steps until ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine state that the situation has been resolved, Szijjártó added.
In response to a question, he said the Hungarian decision cannot be ignored because unequivocal support is needed for the NATO-Ukraine Commission to be convened.
News portal Origo reported on Friday that Hungary had vetoed the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, which was scheduled for December 6.
OSCE commissioner shares concerns about Ukraine education law, says Hungarian FM in Palermo
The OSCE’s high commissioner for national minorities, Lamberto Zannier, shares concerns about Ukraine’s education law, the foreign minister said on Tuesday in Palermo, where he is attending the OSCE Mediterranean Conference.
Speaking to MTI by phone after talks with Zannier, Péter Szijjártó said the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe was the most helpful international organisation whose assistance Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece had sought out.
“We agreed that everyone must fulfil their international obligations,” Szijjártó said.
And in its association agreement with the European Union, Ukraine made a commitment to continually expand minority rights, Szijjártó noted. Yet the adoption of its education law is “diametrically opposed” to that commitment, he said.
As regards his talks with Zannier, Szijjártó said the former OSCE secretary-general himself had also brought up the issue of the education law with Ukrainian officials and is following the issue closely.
Szijjártó said Zannier would soon pay a visit to Ukraine to discuss the law with officials in person.
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“Hungary and the Hungarian government will always stand up for the interests of ethnic Hungarians living beyond the border,” the minister said.
“We consider the Ukrainian amendment unacceptable and will not rest until Transcarpathian Hungarians say that their situation is satisfactory.”
Ukraine’s new rules on education banning post-primary-level education in minority languages were signed into law last month. The move triggered protest in several neighbouring countries.
As we wrote last Saturday, Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party will not support the Ukrainian governing party’s admission to the European People’s Party (EPP) as long as Ukraine fails to amend its education law to guarantee mother-tongue education to ethnic minorities from kindergarten to university
Photo: MTI
1956 – Transcarpathia Hungarians deserve special respect, says justice minister
It was Trancarpathia’s Hungarians who were most isolated from Hungary during the Soviet times, “and we owe them respect for preserving their self-identity and mother tongue under rather difficult circumstances”, the Hungarian justice minister said in Uzhhorod/Ungvár, in western Ukraine, on Monday.
László Trócsányi addressed a gathering in the local theatre that marked the 61st anniversary of Hungary’s ill-fated anti-Soviet uprising.
In 1956, Transcarpathia/Kárpátalja and Uzhhorod/Ungvár itself formed part of a country whose troops brought down the Hungarian revolution, he said.
Although today’s Transcarpathia region has belonged to various different states over the course of its history, its population has remained the same, the minister noted.
Speaking in the context of the endurance and thriving of Transcarpathia’s Hungarian community, Trócsányi emphasised the importance of the community’s right to education in their mother tongue without restriction.
“We firmly stand up for the Hungarian community’s right to the use of their language in education as has been enshrined in international treaties,” he said, making reference to the recently adopted Ukrainian education law.
Trócsányi earlier in the day met Hennadiy Moskal, governor of the Transcarpathia region, to discuss the contested new Ukrainian law.
He told MTI that he pointed out to Moskal that the new law violated several international accords ratified by Ukraine.
Trócsányi said he thanked the governor for supporting the Hungarian community.
During his visit, the minister laid a wreath at the city’s 1956 memorial.
Fidesz not to back Ukrainian govt party’s admission to EPP
Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party will not support the Ukrainian governing party’s admission to the European People’s Party (EPP) as long as Ukraine fails to amend its education law to guarantee mother-tongue education to ethnic minorities from kindergarten to university, Zsolt Németh, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said on Saturday.
The law violates the Council of Europe’s framework agreement on minorities, Ukraine’s EU association agreement and the Hungarian-Ukrainian basic treaty alike, he told a press conference.
“Ukraine should be halted before it is too late,”
Németh said, referring to the Ukrainian language, citizenship and church bills “that are already in the pipeline” and may “further aggravate what is already an alarming situation”.
Németh, of ruling Fidesz, expressed hope that Ukraine would be stopped on the road which destabilises its western region and endangers the future of central Europe.
Hungary continues to be prepared for an expert dialogue,
and will use every possible bilateral and multilateral channel to convince Ukraine about the need to amend its education law, he said.
As we wrote on Friday, Ukraine will not change Hungarian nationality education until decision of Venice Commission.
Ukraine will not change Hungarian nationality education until decision of Venice Commission
Hungary has been given a promise that no changes of any kind will be introduced in Ukraine in the education of the Hungarian minority until a decision is adopted by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe with respect to the relevant part of the Ukrainian education legislation, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog said after he had talks with Ukrainian Education Minister Liliya Hrynevych and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin in Kiev.
At the press conference held jointly, Mr Balog described the atmosphere of the talks in Kiev as constructive. He stressed: the Hungarian Government primarily focuses on the interests of the Hungarians in Transcarpathia/Kárpátalja. “What is good for Hungarian-speaking Ukrainian citizens is also good for Budapest”, he stressed. He said that the Hungarian Government wishes to continue talks with the Kiev leadership in agreement with them also in the future.
In his words, the Ukrainian Government expects everyone in Ukraine to speak the state language well, including people in Transcarpathia/Kárpátalja where it is important to reinforce the education of the Ukrainian language. He remarked that the Hungarian Teachers’ Federation in Transcarpathia has a number of professional proposals as to how the teaching of Ukrainian to the Hungarian minority can be made more effective.
They will engage in consultations from now on about the application of the laws that serve to ensure this, he added. “We expect that no unilateral measures should be taken with respect to the alteration of the current schooling system until the closing of these consultations, if possible, with an agreement”, he highlighted. In his words, he was given a promise to this effect by the Ukrainian Education Minister.
According to his information, both the Ukrainian Education Minister and Foreign Minister confirmed that
the Hungarian-Ukrainian treaty concluded in 1991 continues to remain in force, and this ensures education in the mother tongue for the Hungarian minority in Ukraine at every level.
“For this very reason, we expect to see no reduction in the significance and level of education in the mother tongue in the future”, he added.
A number of neighbouring countries protested against Article 7 regarding the language of education in the new Ukrainian education law signed by President Petro Poroshenko on 25 September, including Hungary, Romania and Poland. This part of the law – which would enter into force as of September 2020 – lays down: the language of education in Ukraine is Ukrainian. With a view to the implementation of this rule, education in the mother tongue for national minorities will only be permitted in the first four grades of elementary school, and only in the classes or groups of educational institutions operated by municipalities. As of grade 5, all subjects will be taught in Ukrainian. At the same time, the law allows the education of one or several subjects in the language of any of the Member States of the European Union.
Mr Balog pointed out: there is a legal dispute between Hungary and Ukraine as to whether the new education legislation curtails minority rights or not, and this is why they agreed to wait for the position of the Venice Commission.
“There is a pedagogical, an education policy issue that we shall work on together,
there is a legal part in which we are seeking the assistance of international organisations, and there is a part in which we would like to express that preserving good relations between Hungary and Ukraine is very important for us”, he said.
He remarked that the Hungarian Government has done a great deal to support Ukrainians living in Hungary in the past six years. In order for the Ukrainian Education Minister to ascertain this in person, the Minister invited her to visit Hungary.
Liliya Hrynevych stated at the press conference: the meeting was a good opportunity to dispel certain misunderstandings in connection with the new education legislation. She pointed out repeatedly that
they will not close down a single Hungarian school in Transcarpathia/Kárpátalja.
Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin reiterated: the purpose of the law is to provide equal rights and equal opportunities of advancement for every Ukrainian citizen through education, regardless of their national affiliation.
Photo: Gyula Bartos
Traditions, faith jeopardised by nihilism, says House Speaker Kövér in Saint Petersburg
The real struggle today is between “people protecting their traditions, faith, and values” and “nihilists denying all that”, House Speaker László Kövér said in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 137th general assembly of the Interparliamentary Union, Kövér said that certain “private powers” sought to eliminate traditional values and those circles were now “overpowering” most countries in the world. He also added that
George Soros, the “emblematic” US billionaire, is “one of the most agile players of those private powers”.
“The migration crisis is in fact a tool in those endeavours in the background aimed at eliminating or diluting European cultures, thus making people … isolated and even more easy to manipulate”, Kövér insisted.
On the subject of Ukraine’s education law, Kövér said that “once the majority seeks total power over a minority, it will not only harm that community but, in the long run, it will do harm to itself, too.”
Through its education law, Ukraine has violated international agreements, which has elicited criticism both in the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, Kövér said. He added that he hoped the Venice Commission will also “tell Kiev that it has taken measures that are not compatible with European standards”.
Photo: MTI
EU-Ukraine association council set to discuss education law at December meeting
European Commission officials have approved adding Ukraine’s new education law to the agenda of the EU-Ukraine Association Council’s December session, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Monday.
Ukraine “is committing a gross violation of minority rights”, Szijjártó said, adding that the country’s new education law was in breach of Ukraine’s association agreement with the EU.
Szijjártó said that at the meeting he had asked the EU-Ukraine Association Council to declare that
under the association agreement, Kiev has a duty to continually strengthen minority rights.
Neither European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini nor European Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn had any objections to this, the minister added.
Earlier on the sidelines of the meeting, Szijjártó told journalists that
Ukraine’s education law was also in violation of human rights.
He said the law, which bans post-primary-level education in minority languages, would make the continued operations of 71 Hungarian-language schools in western Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region impossible.
Szijjártó said the Hungarian government is ready to discuss the law with Ukraine, adding at the same time, that the success of any such talks hinged on Ukraine repealing or at least suspending the implementation of elements of the law “that severely violate” minority rights.
Protest held against Ukraine education law in Budapest
Some 100-150 people gathered in front of the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest on Friday evening to protest against Ukraine’s new education law and demonstrate in support of autonomy for the Transcarpathian region.
Addressing the demonstration, independent MEP Krisztina Morvai said all Hungarians had a right to live as Hungarians in their places of birth and that native ethnic communities had a right to autonomy.
“This should also have been said when the European Union signed the association agreement with Ukraine,”
she said.
National Legal Defense Service CEO Tamás Gaudi-Nagy, who organised the protest together with Morvai, said that
if Ukraine did not guarantee the roughly 200,000 Transcarpathian Hungarians their right to self-determination, it could not be an associate member of the EU.
Ukraine’s new rules on education banning post-primary-level education in minority languages were signed into law last month. The move triggered protest in several neighbouring countries.
Ukraine education law – Ukrainian foreign minister visits Hungary
Hungary and Ukraine have “completely different” positions concerning Ukraine’s recent education proposal which would deprive older students from ethnic minorities of education in their mother tongue, the Hungarian foreign minister said on Thursday after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart in Budapest.
Péter Szijjártó said Ukraine’s Hungarian community did not support the contested package.
“Hungary does not want a fight but an agreement,” he said.
Hungarians in Transcarpathia/Kárpátalja, in western Ukraine, should be handed back their rights, he added.
“As long as the local Hungarian community is unhappy with the situation” Hungary will insist on its decision not to support Ukraine in international organisations, Szijjártó said. Provisions which affect the Hungarian minority should be dropped, he added.
Szijjarto said that
the new law, under which the language of tuition in secondary schools and higher education would be exclusively Ukrainian, was like “a stab in the back” for Hungary,
which had “taken a number of risky decisions” to help Ukraine. For example, he mentioned Hungarian gas supplies to Ukraine, treating injured Ukrainian soldiers in Hungary, various aid programmes, and
Hungary’s encouraging the EU to grant a visa-free status to entrants from Ukraine.
The minister said that further draft amendments affecting minorities submitted to the Ukrainian parliament on Monday, would jeopardise the existence of 71 schools for the Hungarian minority. He added that the package was in conflict with the EU-Ukraine association agreement, and said that Hungary would request a review of the agreement next Monday.
Pavlo Klimkin, the Ukrainian minister, said at the press conference that the draft was “not aimed at people”. It was designed to help all Ukrainian citizens to success; “if a Ukrainian national cannot speak Ukrainian well, they will miss out on a lot of opportunities,” he said. He also insisted that
no schools would be closed and “not a single teacher will be dismissed” because of the new law.
Also we wrote in the same topic, the Council of Europe must make a firm stand for the protection of minority language education, since Ukraine’s new education law affects not just a single community but minority education systems in general, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee said after talks with the secretary-general of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
We wrote on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Szijjártó would initiate the review of the agreement at next Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Photo: MTI
Hungarian official discusses Ukraine education law with CoE SecGen
The Council of Europe must make a firm stand for the protection of minority language education, since Ukraine’s new education law affects not just a single community but minority education systems in general, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee said after talks with the secretary-general of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
Speaking to MTI by phone, Zsolt Németh said he had briefed Thorbjorn Jagland on Hungary’s stance on Ukraine’s education law banning post-primary-level education in minority languages.
Hungary believes the law would be a serious step back in terms of minority rights and that it violates Ukraine’s own constitution, the Hungarian-Ukrainian basic treaty and the framework agreement on minorities, he said.
Hungary accepts that Ukraine passed measures in the interests of teaching the official language but believes that it is possible for minorities to acquire the country’s official language without being restricted in their right to be taught in the mother tongue, he said.
As we wrote on Friday, the Council of Europe (CoE) shares Hungary’s concerns related to the Ukraine education law, a letter sent by CoE Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Friday showed.
Németh said he had asked Jagland that the Council of Europe conduct a thorough analysis of the education law.
He said Jagland was committed to making sure that minority rights in Ukraine are not violated.