Hungary will continue to block Ukraine’s accession to the European Union until the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia regains the rights lost in 2015.
This was stated by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on his Facebook page following a phone conversation with Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger. Szijjártó noted that he discussed with his Austrian counterpart the violations of the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia and Ukraine’s EU integration process.
I appreciate Beate Meinl-Reisinger’s willingness to help, but the reality is that the Ukrainian government, despite its promises, has not restored the minority rights taken away from the Hungarian community in 2015, the minister emphasized.
According to him, this situation is unacceptable and contradicts European principles and values.
As long as this unfortunate situation persists, there can be no progress in Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, he stated.
Earlier, Hungary announced that it would block the opening of negotiation clusters on Ukraine’s EU accession until “consultations” with the population are conducted. Budapest has already blocked the first negotiation cluster and is demanding an expansion of the list of requirements for Kyiv.
