Hungary is keeping further progress in Ukraine’s EU accession talks blocked until Kyiv adopts laws protecting ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Ukraine is preparing legislation on minority education rights, and parliament expects to vote in October. If the package passes, Budapest could lift its veto on opening more negotiating chapters.
Minority Rights at the Centre
The dispute centres on the rights of Ukraine’s Hungarian community in the Transcarpathia region. Hungary and Ukraine agreed in June on an 11-point plan to strengthen minority rights. Hungary then allowed two negotiating clusters to open, but Budapest has since insisted that Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, pass the required legislation.
The laws are due by the end of the year. A bill covering language and cultural rights is also due before the Rada later in October. Kyiv hasn’t officially commented on the latest developments.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán said on social media that Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Vsevolod Chsentsov had personally told her a bill on national minorities’ educational rights would go to parliament. “We welcome this step,” she said. Orbán added: “Hungary remains interested in the dialogue and in tangible results in the everyday life of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia.”
Ukrainian outlet LIGA.net reported that experts from both countries held intensive talks this week and agreed which parts of the 11-point plan Kyiv could deliver. Now, the proposed legislation faces a vote in a parliament without stable majorities.
Budapest’s Veto and Kyiv’s Vote
Dániel Hegedűs, deputy director of the Institut für Europäische Politik, told Euronews the move could reverse recent negative trends in bilateral relations. He warned, though, that the bill could run into obstacles in the Verkhovna Rada.
“Given the absence of stable majorities in the Verkhovna Rada, passing the legislation in October is an ambitious goal and a real test of whether the Ukrainian administration can regain political control over issues of strategic importance to the country's EU integration,” Hegedűs said.
If Ukraine passes the minority package, Hungary could lift its veto on opening more chapters in Kyiv’s accession talks. But approval may not settle how far Budapest will go in its support. “It remains to be seen whether passage of the law will secure Hungary's support for opening all negotiation clusters or only for some of them,” Hegedűs said.
Political Stakes on Both Sides
The dispute comes after years of strained relations under Viktor Orbán, whose government repeatedly clashed with Kyiv and blocked Ukraine’s progress toward EU membership. Péter Magyar took office in May and has sought to repair relations. Magyar and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had planned to meet, but Magyar made talks conditional on progress over minority rights.
Hungarian public opinion complicates any agreement. Conservative voters remain wary of closer ties with Kyiv after years of hostility towards Ukraine under Orbán. Yet defending ethnic Hungarians abroad is popular among conservatives, which could give Magyar room to reach a deal.
The governments also clashed over Zelenskyy’s C8 regional development initiative. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Magyar of following in Orbán’s footsteps after Magyar said Hungary had been included against its will.
In Hegedűs’s most positive scenario, passage of the minority law and Hungarian support for opening all negotiation clusters “could mark a new era in relations between the two countries.” He also said approval would make it “harder to sustain” Budapest’s blockade and “significantly more costly politically at the European level.” The next test is whether the Rada passes the legislation and what support Hungary gives afterward.