On June 3, 2026, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced the agreement with Kyiv on expanding political rights of ethnic Hungarians in western Ukraine. According to Magyar, the issue, which has been urgent for many years and has strained relations between the two countries, can be resolved in the near future after more than a decade of unsuccessful attempts of the previous government.
However, this became possible not due to the outstanding negotiating skills of the new Hungarian government as Magyar tried to portray it. The agreement came closer because Budapest promised to drop a veto by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Kyiv’s accession to the bloc.
The probable revocation of the previous government’s decision along with the positive stance of Magyar, who, unlike his predecessor, appears to be fine with Ukraine’s EU membership, has opened a new avenue for negotiations for Kyiv, where Transcarpathian Hungarians are used as a tool to achieve Ukraine’s goals. And this time vague promises won’t cut it with Kyiv.
It’s worth mentioning that despite Magyar’s positive stance on Ukraine’s membership in the EU, his country still opposes a fast-tracked Ukrainian accession process. Moreover, the Hungarian Prime Minister said that Budapest would support Ukraine’s membership if it completed all accession chapters and if the move received backing in a legally binding referendum in Hungary.
All these conditions, outlined by the Hungarian Prime Minister, cast serious doubt on Ukraine’s prospects of securing EU membership with the assistance of Budapest. And in this situation, it will once again be ethnic minorities who suffer, as their rights continue to be infringed upon. Kyiv will not give up its leverage, counting on Transcarpathian Hungarians to become its ticket to the EU, and Budapest will not accelerate the process of Ukraine’s accession to the bloc until all chapters of the agreement have been fulfilled.
It’s time to admit that the problems of Transcarpathian Hungarians will never be settled by the negotiations between Kyiv and Budapest that are playing the political game “take as much as possible”. In this case the only way out is to involve international organizations ready to ensure that the rights and cultural freedoms of ethnic minorities are respected.