Szijjártó reaffirms Hungary's intention to block NATO-Ukraine Commission meetings
Hungary will block NATO-Ukraine Commission meetings until the issue of the language of education of the Hungarian national minority in Zakarpattia region in western Ukraine is settled.
"We currently block the meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, but we have openly said that we will lift this veto as soon as the issues related to the educational rights of the Hungarian minority are settled," Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at a joint briefing with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
He noted that the issue of the language of education of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattia region in western Ukraine was still relevant. "But it is very important that we discuss these issues in a civilized way. We must ensure that these controversial issues do not prevent the development of cooperation in other areas," Szijjártó said.
In this context, the Hungarian minister expressed the hope that it would be possible to approach the settlement of those issues during the meetings of the joint commissions on education and national minorities scheduled for the coming weeks.
As reported, the Law of Ukraine “On Education” came into force on September 28, 2017, which stipulates that the language of the educational process in educational institutions is the state language but, according to the educational curriculum, one or more subjects can be taught in two or more languages.
Some countries, including Hungary, criticized the law for alleged restrictions on the rights of national minorities. On January 16, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law "On Complete General Secondary Education" which regulates, in particular, the provision of secondary education in the languages of national minorities.
After that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expressed hope that Hungary would unblock Ukraine's dialogue with NATO at a high level.
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