Kachka: Ukraine’s plan on national minorities fully takes Hungary’s interests into account

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka has stated that the action plan on national minorities developed by Kyiv fully takes Hungary’s interests into account.

He made the announcement at the forum “Rule of Law Roadmap: One Year After Adoption,” as reported by RBC-Ukraine.

“There is a relevant benchmark regarding respect for national minorities in the requirements for European Union member states. There is an Action Plan that we drew up together with this roadmap, and events on national minorities are taking place. They fully take into account all of Hungary’s interests,” Kachka said.

According to him, the opening of the first cluster of EU accession negotiations will benefit Hungary’s position on the protection of the national minority. Kyiv expects that with the formation of Hungary’s new government, practical work in this direction will begin.

Kachka expressed hope that all six negotiation clusters could be opened as early as May 26 or June 16. He also stressed the importance of the European Union adopting the relevant decisions before the end of Cyprus’s EU presidency.

“But in order for us to maintain political unity and solidarity, it is very important, in fact, to adopt these decisions on the part of the European Union and then jointly do so before the end of Cyprus’s presidency in the European Union,” the deputy prime minister added.

Media outlets previously reported that Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, wants to secure expanded rights for the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. According to available information, Kyiv must fulfill this requirement before Budapest approves official negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.