Ensuring minority rights is an essential part of Ukraine’s accession process

Today morning, members of the European Parliament discussed the priorities of tomorrow’s EU-Ukraine summit. “In the shadow of the war, the implementation of the reforms requires serious efforts from Ukraine; however, the criteria for EU membership, including the Copenhagen criteria and the implementation of the conditions set by the European Commission in June, are indispensable requirements for accession. One of these conditions is the guarantee of the rights of national minorities,” said Fidesz MEP Andrea Bocskor.

The MEP added: “However, in December, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a new law on national minorities, that was not consulted with the Venice Commission, and the opinions of representatives of national minorities were not taken into account when adopting the text. Therefore, the law does not guarantee the enforcement and protection of the fundamental rights of national minorities, so it does not improve the situation of, for example, the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine but merely cements the rights restrictions caused by the 2017 Law on Education and the 2019 Language Law”.

MEP Andrea Bocskor highlighted: “It is regrettable that the situation of the national minorities in Ukraine is not covered in the resolution of the European Parliament at all, so although I sincerely support Ukraine’s progress towards joining the European Union and the restoration of peace and stability as soon as possible, I did not participate in the adoption of the resolution.”