June 4, 2026, 7:20 amJune 4, 2026, 7:20 am
According to the government in Budapest, Hungary and Ukraine have agreed on an agreement on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. The step is also important for Kiev’s efforts to join the EU. Hungary’s Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who has only been head of government since May 9, had made the regulation of minority rights in the eastern neighboring state a condition for his country to agree to the start of EU accession talks with Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia.
The new Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar.Image: keystone
Magyar said on Platform X that after three weeks of negotiations with Ukraine, his team had achieved what his predecessor Viktor Orban had not achieved in a decade. The comprehensive agreement improves the educational opportunities as well as linguistic, cultural and political rights of the more than 100,000 members of the Hungarian minority in the western Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia, he wrote. Ukraine is committed to legally implementing the changes in the near future. This commitment will also be recorded in the Ukrainian action plan for EU accession.
Magyar’s predecessor Orban was considered rather Russia-friendly and repeatedly blocked EU projects in favor of Ukraine; Hungary’s relations with its neighboring country reached a low point.
Magyar open to meeting with Zelensky
Magyar, on the other hand, only expressed confidence at the beginning of the week during his inaugural visit to Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) in Berlin that the dispute with Ukraine over minority rights could be resolved quickly. He is ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky soon. “We are ready to open a new chapter in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations,” he continued.
Magyar now stated on X that Hungary is still against accelerated Ukraine’s accession to the EU. If Kiev manages to conclude all accession chapters with the EU in the next 10 to 15 years, Hungary will support accession – subject to a legally binding referendum. (dab/sda/dpa)