Hungarians in Transcarpathia ask Orbán not to obstruct Ukraine's EU accession

Representatives of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia have written an open letter to Viktor Orbán and the President of the European Council to urge the Hungarian Prime Minister and Charles Michel to do their utmost to support the opening of negotiations on Ukraine's EU accession. A positive decision on the subject may technically be reached at the upcoming EU summit on 14-15 December, but for the time being, the Hungarian government is opposed to the idea.

The open letter, published by the Hungarian Democratic Union of Ukraine (UMDSZ) on Facebook in both Ukrainian and Hungarian, is a reaction to the Hungarian government's recent statements clearly rejecting the idea of giving Ukraine a date for the start of negotiations. It is a long process, and Ukraine's membership would still be at least a decade away, so there is no danger of Ukraine becoming a member of the community without due preparation.

The letter underlines that by amending the law on minorities, Ukraine has taken an important step, thus securing the continued preservation of education in Hungarian. Before the law was adopted, this was the Hungarian government's main objection toward Ukraine. Representatives of the Hungarian community in western Ukraine have expressed their support for the freshly adopted law.

The open letter was signed by

• Zoltán Babják, Mayor of Berehove;
• Károly Rezes, President of the Berehove District Council;
• József Rezes, head of the Ukrainian-Hungarian Regional Foundation for Youth Development;
• Judit Petei, representative of the Transcarpathian County Council and
• László Zubánics, President of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Ukraine (UMDSZ).

However, the Hungarian Cultural Association of Transcarpathia (KMKSZ), which is considered to be close to Fidesz, is missing from the list of signatories.

"Ukraine has made significant progress in implementing the European Commission's recommendations on guaranteeing the rights of national minorities in the past year. The draft law adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament is a significant reflection of the interests of ethnic minorities and has our full support. We therefore hope that all the norms adopted in this complex law will be incorporated into the normative documents of Ukrainian legislation, taking into account all the proposals made by the CSOs of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia. This step is an important demonstration of Ukraine's commitment to consolidating the rights of persons of all ethnic backgrounds throughout the country, including in Transcarpathia.

We would strongly urge the leaders of all EU Member States to continue to support Ukraine on its path towards European integration. The progress made in safeguarding democracy and ensuring the rights of ethnic minorities is an integral part of the Copenhagen membership criteria and we believe that Ukraine deserves to be supported in its efforts in this direction.

Ukraine has continued to implement the necessary reforms and has remained faithful to its European integration values even in the face of the Russian invasion which began on 24 February 2022.

We are grateful for your attention to this matter and hope for a positive decision that will contribute to Ukraine's future and to the strengthening of the European community," the letter says.

Recently, rather than quoting the law on minority rights as a reason, the Hungarian government has been rejecting the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine, based on claims that the country is not a functioning democracy and that the state is corrupt. On Monday, prior to the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels, Ukraine's Foreign Minister held a press conference at which he said that Ukraine was determined to enforce the minority law that satisfies the Hungarians’ expectations – and the law had already been adopted – and added that the legal conditions had been created for an institutional framework to fight corruption. Dmytro Kuleba also said that he would be meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in Brussels. The two foreign ministers have not had a single private meeting since Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine a year and a half ago

Kuleba noted that Hungary had previously been an active supporter of Ukraine's integration, and called the change of attitude incomprehensible. "We know where this narrative is coming from," Kuleba said, without specifying its origin, although it is clear that he was referring to the Kremlin, as the Hungarian government's objections to Ukraine and the Hungarian position being opposed to the EU majority have been repeatedly described as pro-Moscow both in Kyiv and in the EU.