For Budapest to support the opening of negotiations, the prime minister said, the Hungarian minority in Ukraine must first regain its fundamental rights.

"As soon as Ukraine commits to this, Hungary will not put any obstacles in the way of starting the negotiations. We are close to this, as we have reached a technical agreement with Kyiv on the language, cultural, educational, and political rights of the Hungarian minority. If these points are included in their action plan for the EU, then we will agree to the start of the first phase of the negotiations," Magyar said, adding that it was in the interest of both Hungary and Ukraine to move forward.

"Hungary wants to maintain good relations with all its neighbours. In Hungary, we believe that actions speak louder than words," the newspaper quoted the prime minister as saying. He confirmed that "Ukraine can expect honesty from us, not hypocrisy."

"Ukraine is currently at war. We hope this conflict will end as soon as possible, and that in five, ten, or fifteen years, it will be able to complete the 33 accession chapters. Then we will hold a referendum in Hungary on the matter. After all, our own accession process also took more than ten years," he said.

Regarding Russia, the prime minister said Hungary's goal was to achieve energy independence, and that it was trying "to diversify, but cannot completely break away from Russian energy".

"Russia currently poses a security threat to Europe. But in the long term, it is important that we try to return to the situation that existed twenty years ago, when we were able to cooperate with them very well economically," he said.

"Perhaps neither I nor [Russian president] Vladimir Putin will be here when this happens. The goal is energy independence. That is why we can cooperate with France in the field of nuclear energy, and we are currently developing a new power plant, in which France also has a role," he said.

Magyar said the aim of his first foreign visits was to strengthen Hungary's position with its main western European partners.

French president "Emmanuel Macron and I both believe there are many opportunities to develop Hungary-France relations, whether in the economy, defence, or European politics," he said.

"After 16 years of Viktor Orban's government, now is the time to open a new chapter in the history of Franco-Hungarian relations. That is the purpose of my Paris visit. That is why I have invited Emmanuel Macron to Budapest for the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian revolution," he added.

The prime minister confirmed that the government will present its action plan to the European Commission within two weeks to unlock frozen funds.

"This will not be a problem, as we have agreed on the text of the necessary legislative amendments. We have indicated that Hungary intends to join the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and we have made very firm commitments in the fight against corruption. The deadline is tight, but we are determined to do everything possible to ensure that EU funds reach Hungary still this year," the prime minister said.

He also recalled that the previous government had requested 16 billion euros from the EU's SAFE fund for new defence spending.

"Now we need to review the commitments and agreements, because a large part of this funding was intended for oligarchs close to Viktor Orban. It is in Hungary's interest to use these funds and strengthen its defence capabilities," the prime minister said.

On the review of the Constitution, Magyar emphasised that the previous government had "written it on an iPad" and adopted it in 2011 without consulting the Hungarian people.

"The public has high expectations for a new constitution. The drafting process could take up to a year, and in the end, we would like to hold a referendum. But in this transitional period, we cannot allow those who betrayed and plundered the country to remain in their positions," Magyar said in response to a question about the possible removal of President Tamas Sulyok.

"These people betrayed the Hungarian people and Hungarian sovereignty. That is why we received an unprecedentedly strong mandate from the voters. They did not elect me simply to replace the government, but to change the system, to restore the system of checks and balances, to reinstate the rule of law, and to put in place every possible limit on the executive power so that the abuses and excesses of recent years can never happen again. This is one of the reasons why I have pledged that from now on, no prime minister will remain in power for more than eight years," Magyar said.

Regarding his government's political views, he said: "I lead a centrist government, because it includes people from all sides, many of whom have not previously been involved in politics."

He said he wanted to protect everyone's rights, "especially those of the current parliamentary opposition," as well as "the fundamental right to freedom of assembly and protest".

"Under my government, no one will face discrimination because of who they vote for, what they believe, or who they love," he said.

ChristDem official demands govt publish deal signed with Ukraine

The Hungarian government should publish any agreement signed with Ukraine on Hungarian minority rights - if such an agreement exists - Lorinc Nacsa, deputy leader of the opposition Christian Democratic parliamentary group, said on Thursday.

Nacsa, who chairs parliament's committee on Hungarian communities abroad, also demanded that both the Hungarian and Ukrainian parliaments adopt the commitments, guarantees, and deadlines under any international agreement, so they cannot later backtrack "once they get what they want" or after a change in Ukrainian leadership. This, he said, would be the only real guarantee.

Nacsa said that if the talks had brought Hungary any closer to regaining the educational, cultural, language, and political rights stripped from Transcarpathian Hungarians since 2015, it would be a positive and welcome development.

He noted that two years ago, the then-government created an 11-point framework for negotiations, and expert and political consultations have been held since then, always involving representatives of the Transcarpathian Hungarian community.

According to Nacsa, Prime Minister Peter Magyar's announcement refers to agreement on nine of these 11 points, with no breakthrough on the remaining two.

He added that it was "strange" there had been no high-level Hungary-Ukraine political talks before the alleged agreement, and that the Ukrainian side, including President Zelensky, had not communicated any promises or agreements.

Meanwhile, Magyar: Full agreement reached with Ukraine on expanding rights for Hungarian minority

Ukraine has committed to fully settle the educational, language, cultural and political rights of the 100,000-strong Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Facebook on Wednesday evening.

The agreement follows weeks of intensive Hungarian-Ukrainian expert-level negotiations, involving political organisations and churches representing Transcarpathian ethnic Hungarians, the prime minister said.

"It is a great joy to announce, one day before the Day of National Cohesion, that the Ukrainian government has pledged to transpose the agreed measures into its legal system in the near future," he said.

"This will grant our compatriots in Transcarpathia far broader rights in education, culture, language use and political participation than before."

Ukraine's commitments, he added, will also be included in its action plan for the European Union. If this happens, the Hungarian government will support opening the first accession cluster for Ukraine, he said.

"Hungary still does not support accelerated EU accession negotiations," Magyar said.

"If Ukraine manages to close all 33 accession chapters within 10 or 15 years, our country will hold a binding referendum on the matter," he said, attaching a video to his announcement.

In the video, Magyar said that in just three weeks, his government had achieved what the Orban government "failed to do for years: a breakthrough with Ukrainian counterparts on securing the language, educational and cultural rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians".

"As the Hungarian government and I have repeatedly made clear, we can open a new chapter in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations if Ukraine commits to fully settling the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia," he said.

Magyar emphasised that securing the rights of the Hungarian minority must be reflected in the EU's expectations of Ukraine.

Over the past weeks, Hungarian and Ukrainian experts, along with Transcarpathian Hungarian organisations, engaged in "highly intensive professional consultations to resolve the Hungarian minority's situation", he said. As a result, he added, Ukraine had made broad and comprehensive commitments to improve the situation of Hungarian minorities.

Detailing the agreement, Magyar said Ukraine had pledged to restore the system of minority schools, with Hungarian freely usable not only in education but in all school communications.

Students in minority schools will be allowed to use Hungarian symbols, including singing the national anthem, displaying the national flag and using Hungarian-language inscriptions in schools. Schools will also be allowed to conduct administrative processes and issue report cards in Hungarian.

Hungarian students will in future be able to take their school-leaving and university entrance exams in Hungarian, and will also have the option of taking a school-leaving exam in the subjects of Hungarian grammar and literature.

Mandatory Ukrainian-taught subjects in minority schools will only be expanded with prior parental consent, and Ukraine has guaranteed the survival of minority schools even with lower student numbers, the prime minister said.

Ukraine's commitments also extend to language rights, he said. In settlements where Hungarians make up over 10 percent of the population, Hungarian national symbols can be freely used.

Hungarian will be usable in health care, sporting events and academic conferences, while political activities, ballots, advertisements and information materials will be available in Hungarian.

The Hungarian minority will have the right to freely practise their traditions, celebrate national holidays and establish cultural and educational institutions, Magyar added.

"One hundred thousand Hungarians will regain their fundamental rights and the hope of being able to pass on to their children the culture and identity they received from their parents and grandparents," Magyar said.

Ukraine has undertaken to guarantee that those minority rights will be brought into force in the coming period, he said.

At the same time, the European Union, in line with Hungary's request, stated in its letter to Ukraine that Ukraine must bring its action plan into line with the results of the Hungarian-Ukrainian negotiations, and that the European Union would continuously monitor the implementation of this action plan within the framework of the accession process, he added.

"The Hungarian government invites Ukraine to amend its minority action plan in accordance with the agreements," Magyar said. "Once that happens, the Hungarian government will agree to the opening of the first chapter of EU accession talks," Magyar said.

This will ensure that Ukraine fully implements all its commitments regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority within the framework of the enlargement process, he added.

Magyar said the Hungarian government's position was clear regarding Ukraine's accession. "It is not possible to apply an accelerated procedure to Ukraine or any other country; under the principle of equal treatment, the countries of the Western Balkans must move forward along the same principles as Ukraine."

"The number of years it will take for the countries to complete the 33 chapters depends on the work they do," the prime minister said in his video.

European Commission welcomes Hungary-Ukraine deal on ethnic minority rights

The European Commission has welcomed "constructive negotiations between Hungary and Ukraine and the agreement to address the remaining issues concerning the rights of people belonging to national minorities in Ukraine," Guillaume Mercier, the commission's spokesman, said in Brussels on Thursday.

The agreement is a "testament to the efforts of Hungary and Ukraine to overcome issues pending for a long time facilitated by the dynamics of EU accession process and associated reforms," the spokesman said.

"This is an important step that paves the way to the opening of fundamental clusters for Ukraine and Moldova," Mercier said, adding that he hoped that it could happen in the foreseeable future, "even in a few weeks".

Answering a question concerning Hungary's ban on Ukrainian agricultural imports, Olof Gill, the commission's spokesman on the subject, said the body's position was unchanged, and called on all member states in question to withdraw their bans.

He said the EU had adopted a new framework to regulate trade with Ukraine, and said they would work with all members affected, including Hungary.

Siobhan McGarry, another commission spokesperson, answering a question concerning Hungary's revised recovery plan -- which is necessary for Hungary to access EU funding -- said the commission had not yet received the document.

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

*********************************************************************************************

You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories via our Facebook page: 

Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoop’s groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters

Showcase Your Business to Expats in the Loop:

As an independent portal we’re grateful to all commercial supporters who help keep you in the loop with fresh insights and inspiration. Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? If so please contact us here.