Hungary's PM Magyar: Ukraine's EU accession talks are a long, complex process

BUDAPEST, June 13. /TASS/. The start of negotiations with Ukraine on joining the European Union, scheduled for June 15, will be only the first step in a long and complex process that may take many years, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said, warning that if Kiev fails to fulfill its obligations, the process will be stopped.

He confirmed that thanks to the agreement on the restoration of the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, Hungary withdrew its objections to the start of the negotiations.

"Ukraine has officially included the provisions of the Hungarian-Ukrainian bilateral agreement in its action plan prepared as part of the EU accession process. This means that the fulfillment of the Ukrainian obligations included in the Hungarian-Ukrainian legal agreement on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia will now meet the expectations of the EU," he said in a video broadcast by national TV channels.

"In other words, the fulfillment of Ukrainian obligations will be constantly monitored in the future by the European Commission and the European Council. If Ukraine fails to fulfill its obligations regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority, it will not be able to move forward in the accession process.

"The opening of the first negotiation cluster is only the first step in a long and complex process. Here is just one example of how long it may take a candidate country to become a member of the European Union: the process of Montenegro's accession to the EU began in 2012, but despite significant progress, the country is still not an EU member."

Earlier, he had repeatedly said that he objected to Ukraine's accelerated accession to the union.

In recent years, the former Hungarian government led by Viktor Orban has also demanded that Kiev restore the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, warning that otherwise it would not allow Ukraine to join the European Union. Budapest noted that since 2015, ethnic Hungarians living there have been deprived of their rights, including the right to use their native language in the field of culture and education.

At the EU summit in Brussels on June 26, 2025, Orban blocked a general statement in support of Ukraine, which gave the green light to the start of negotiations on its accession to the community. Disagreements on these issues have become one of the main reasons for the serious deterioration of relations between the two neighboring countries. Magyar is now seeking to normalize these relations.