EU Accession and Minority Rights: What Exactly Is Ukraine Planning?
4 June 12:19
ANALYSIS 
Ukraine and Hungary have reached an agreement on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, which could pave the way for the opening of the first negotiation chapter in Ukraine’s accession process to the European Union. In an exclusive comment
As reported by
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that the parties have reached a “comprehensive agreement” on expanding the rights of approximately 100,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine.
According to Magyar, after several weeks of consultations, Hungarian and Ukrainian experts agreed to expand the linguistic, educational, cultural, and political rights of the Hungarian community in Ukraine. If Ukraine implements these changes into its legislation and includes them in its action plan for the EU, Budapest will agree to open the first negotiation cluster.
Reuters notes that this specifically involves restoring the school system for the minority, the right to use the Hungarian language in education and during exams, as well as the use of Hungarian national symbols during celebrations.
Ukraine is preparing broader changes for national minorities in EU countries
According to Ruslan Bortnyk, the current process concerns not only the Hungarian community.
“The point is that Ukraine is liberalizing the regime for the protection of national minorities for those national minorities whose countries are members of the European Union. That is, not only for Hungary, but also for Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland. Wherever this is necessary,” the political scientist explained.
In his view, this logic means that the issue of national minorities is becoming part of a larger negotiation package between Ukraine and the EU, and changes in this area will be directly linked to the pace of European integration.
Changes will go through the Verkhovna Rada
Bortnyk emphasizes that the agreements will not remain merely at the level of political statements.
“The point is that Ukraine will amend its legislation accordingly. That is, these changes will go through parliament and will be implemented in stages,” he said.
The expert emphasizes that this will not be a quick decision, but a phased process that will require the adoption of specific legislative changes.
“Some of the most important decisions will go through parliament in the form of amendments to Ukrainian laws,” Bortnik added.
The veto on starting negotiations could be lifted right now
According to the political scientist, the most noticeable political effect of the agreements will be felt right at the start of the negotiation process with the EU.
“The process of making these changes will begin now. At the same time, all vetoes on integration, on the start of negotiations with Ukraine on accession to the European Union, and on the opening of the first cluster will be lifted. In other words, Europeans, including Hungarians, will not block the opening of the first cluster. This negotiation process will begin,” Bortnik believes.
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When it will become clear whether the agreement has worked
At the same time, the expert warns against overly high expectations and says that the initial results won’t be clear anytime soon.
“Well, whether it will be successful will not become clear until at least the end of 2026. The first phase of implementing these agreements is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026,” noted Ruslan Bortnik.
According to him, the final implementation will take even longer.
“The final stage will take place in the coming years. In other words, this will be a long, step-by-step process of expanding the rights of European Union national minorities in Ukraine, which will correspond to and be linked with the opening of negotiation clusters regarding Ukraine’s accession to the European Union,” he said.
As reported by
Discussions regarding the official start of negotiations in this area are expected to be finalized in the EU Council in the coming days.
What is Cluster 1 “Fundamentals”?
The first negotiation cluster in the EU accession process covers fundamental issues: the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration, the judicial system, and basic human rights standards.
The opening of this cluster means that Ukraine is moving from political declarations and screening to a formalized stage of negotiations on specific reforms and membership criteria.
According to media reports, two separate intergovernmental conferences—one for Ukraine and one for Moldova—are scheduled to take place in Luxembourg on June 15 specifically for the official opening of the first cluster.
Prior to this, the EU Council must approve the EU’s common negotiating position on Cluster 1 for Ukraine and Moldova. The Cypriot presidency is currently working to finalize these internal discussions.
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