The European Union has embarked on a diplomatic charm offensive in Ukraine this week, seeking to ease tensions with Hungary that threaten to stall Kyiv’s push to join the 27-member bloc.
European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos visited Uzhhorod in western Ukraine on Monday, meeting Hungarian and Slovak minority representatives as Brussels attempts to address Budapest’s concerns over language rights and cultural protections.
Hungary has repeatedly cited the treatment of its ethnic minority as grounds for opposing Ukraine’s accession, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban hardening his stance ahead of elections next year.
“There is no enlargement without protection of minorities,” Kos told community leaders, adding that the European Commission would act as guarantor of commitments made by Kyiv.
She stressed the EU’s determination to hold Ukraine to its minority rights action plan, adopted in May, while also urging Hungary to lift its veto.
Relations between Kyiv and Budapest have deteriorated sharply in recent weeks. Ukraine accused Hungary of involvement in drone incursions, prompting Hungary to suggest President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was “losing his mind.”
The two neighbours have since expelled diplomats, restricted media access, and banned officials, with Orban even questioning Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Despite the tensions, Kos sought to strike a positive note. In a school where students study Hungarian, Ukrainian, and English, she joined children performing Hungarian folk dances and told them: “We are 27, and we hope that Ukraine will be soon also.”
Most EU members back the start of accession negotiations on six “clusters” covering areas such as human rights and economic policy, but the process requires unanimous consent.
Hungary’s resistance has left the talks in deadlock, leading some officials in Brussels to accuse Budapest of leveraging minority rights for political gain. “Hungary are asking for rights these minorities never had before and never claimed themselves,” one EU diplomat said.
Ukraine insists it has met the bloc’s conditions and is pressing for negotiations to begin. László Zubanics, president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Ukraine, said the accession process was “moving in the right direction” but acknowledged that challenges remain.
European Council President Antonio Costa has floated the possibility of revising the rules to allow cluster talks without unanimity, though such a change would itself require the backing of all 27 member states.
For now, Brussels is balancing encouragement for Ukraine’s reform drive with reassurances to Hungary. As Kos put it: “The central message is that all the minorities are enrichment for the European Union. They should take it very seriously.”
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
