Hungarian Minority Leaders in Ukraine Welcome Language Rights Progress, FIDESZ Remains Skeptical

Hungarian foreign minister Anita Orbán (R) with her Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha

In a joint statement, the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (KMKSZ) and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Ukraine (UMDSZ) welcomed the amendment to the minority law—adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on Monday and signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—and urged the law’s swift and full implementation and application.

The document, signed by KMKSZ President László Brenzovics and UMDSZ President László Zubánics, points out that the legislative amendment adopted on Tuesday comprehensively and substantively addresses the educational rights of national minorities, ensuring the preservation of the institutional network and the free use of the mother tongue in education.

The solutions devised serve the interests not only of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia but of all national minorities and indigenous peoples in Ukraine,”

the document states.

The two largest advocacy organizations representing Transcarpathian Hungarians urge the law’s swift and full implementation and application—a step that “contributes significantly to guaranteeing minority rights, normalizing good-neighborly relations between Hungary and Ukraine, and advancing Ukraine’s European integration process. We trust that other issues concerning minorities will also soon be placed on the agenda and appropriately resolved,” concludes the joint statement.

The Ukrainian parliament’s adoption of the law on education in minority languages ​​marks an important step forward regarding the educational rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia, the Foreign Minister stated on X. In her post, Anita Orbán emphasized that while the Ukrainian parliament’s decision represents significant progress, the process is not yet complete.

Good to meet @andrii_sybiha in Luxembourg.

We welcome today’s important step by the Ukrainian Parliament on minority education rights. A positive result of months of joint work and constructive dialogue.

Thank you to our Ukrainian partners. Let’s keep this momentum going!

— Anita Orban (@_OrbanAnita) October 12, 2026

“We await the Ukrainian president’s signature, the law’s entry into force, and the actual implementation of the commitments,” she stated. She noted that, on the sidelines of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg, she held consultations with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha regarding current issues in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations.

“The decision is the result of many months of persistent Hungarian-Ukrainian negotiations. Working with representatives of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia, we strove to ensure that appropriate legal guarantees secure mother-tongue education for Hungarian children and the continued operation of Hungarian schools,” the head of Hungarian diplomacy added in her post.

The Ukrainian law in question aims to regulate the educational rights of national minorities. The amendments affect school instruction, the issuance of educational documents, the conduct of external assessments, and the preservation of the special status of educational institutions. Ukrainian remains the language of instruction; however, in schools operating classes taught in the language of one of Ukraine’s indigenous peoples or a national minority speaking an official EU language, the right to use that language alongside the state language in education is guaranteed. The law allows schools where more than 50 percent of students study in a national minority language that is also an official EU language to be granted the status of a national minority educational institution.

Its adoption facilitates the opening of the second and third clusters of European Union accession negotiations with Ukraine, following Hungary’s indication last week that if the Ukrainian parliament approved the legislation, it would not stand in the way of launching the next stage of the negotiations.

The main opposition party’s politicians, however, were not convinced about the new Ukrainian legal amendment’s effectiveness in remedying the long-running problems of minority Hungarians in Transcarpathia. “Péter Magyar boasts that the Ukrainian parliament has adopted an education law making it easier for Hungarian children in Transcarpathia to use their language. What we are witnessing is the next act of this charade,” highlighted Csaba Dömötör, a member of the FIDESZ-KDNP European Parliament delegation.

He explained: “First of all, the adopted legislation only partially addresses the 11-point proposal package formulated by Hungarian communities and championed by the previous government.

The adopted amendments do not extend to language use issues outside the realm of education. Equally serious is the fact that the Prime Minister remains silent in his post about the government simultaneously lifting its veto regarding accelerated Ukrainian accession.”

This is happening despite the fact that, under Brussels’ plans, member states would not even have the opportunity to exercise further vetoes during the accession negotiations in the future. Péter Magyar also fails to mention that cohesion and agricultural funds allocated to Hungary would be significantly reduced in the next seven-year EU budget, with a substantial portion of the freed-up funds being diverted to Ukrainian accession and financing the war. The Hungarian government is taking no action against this, either.”

“For years, the Ukrainian government has severely restricted the language rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Even with the current amendments, there is no guarantee that similar restrictive measures will not be implemented in the future… If the government abandons its veto regarding the accession negotiations, it loses the opportunity to stand up for the Transcarpathian communities in the future. At the same time, it facilitates the flow of Hungarian taxpayers’ money into Ukraine. This is what Manfred Weber had in mind a few days ago when he praised the steps taken by the TISZA government. They had dreamed of precisely this kind of government—one that abandons the national position on issues crucial to Hungarian communities”, closed his social media post FIDESZ MEP Csaba Dömötör.

Featured Image: X Anita Orbán

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