Key facts
- Hungary's new Prime Minister Peter Magyar is demanding Ukraine implement minority rights agreements before unblocking EU accession talks.
- Magyar skipped the Carpathian summit and rejected a cross-border energy cooperation deal.
- Experts believe Magyar's approach differs from his predecessor Orban's, potentially seeking a genuine settlement.
- A new draft law on national minority education rights could reach the Ukrainian parliament in October.
- An April poll indicated that many voters for Magyar's party oppose aid to Ukraine and restarting EU accession talks.
Ukraine had hoped for an improved relationship with Hungary following Viktor Orban's electoral defeat, but the country's new Prime Minister, Peter Magyar, has adopted a similarly firm stance, stalling Kyiv's European Union accession bid. Magyar is demanding that Ukraine fully implement earlier agreements concerning the rights of its approximately 80,000-strong Hungarian minority before allowing further progress in EU accession talks.
Magyar has escalated the standoff by skipping the Ukraine-hosted Carpathian summit and rejecting a proposed deal to enhance cross-border energy cooperation. However, experts suggest that Magyar's motivations may differ from Orban's, with some believing he genuinely seeks to resolve the minority rights issue, using available leverage to achieve this, rather than for purely political gain.
A new draft law on national minority education rights, developed by the Ukrainian government based on a June agreement with Hungary, could potentially pave the way forward and may be presented to parliament as early as October. Despite this potential progress, analysts like Sergiy Solodkyy of the New Europe Center believe that both Ukraine and Hungary need to reassess their diplomatic strategies to move beyond the lingering influence of Orban's policies.
Magyar has been explicit that any reset in ties with Ukraine is contingent on addressing what he terms discrimination against the Hungarian ethnic minority, primarily located in the western Zakarpattia Oblast. Initial expert-level discussions in May were constructive, leading to an announcement on June 3 by Magyar that a deal had been reached to strengthen the linguistic, educational, and cultural rights of the Hungarian minority. This agreement had initially led to the lifting of Orban's veto on Ukraine's EU accession, allowing the opening of the first two accession clusters over the summer.
However, negotiations stalled again as Hungary renewed its blockade, insisting on further steps for the implementation of the June agreement before additional clusters could be opened. Ukrainian officials also expressed frustration over Magyar's apparent avoidance of a proposed summit with President Zelensky, despite Magyar himself having suggested it. Zelensky stated on September 18 that Hungary's condition was the adoption of a law based on the June agreement. Magyar subsequently denied Hungary's participation in the Carpathian Eight summit, contradicting Zelensky and offering no specific reason for the snub. He also rejected a proposal for Ukrainian oil storage facilities on Hungarian territory, despite a memorandum signed by Ukraine's Naftogaz and Hungary's Mol.