Until February 17, 250 students from Transcarpathia are expected every week in the camp of the Rákóczi Association in Sátoraljaújhely.Continue reading
Hungarian governing Fidesz MEPs spoke out against sanctions and in favor of protecting the rights of national minorities in the plenary debate on Ukraine.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution detailing its expectations for Friday’s summit between EU and Ukrainian political leaders in Kiev. The text demands the EU “work towards the start of the accession negotiations and to support a roadmap outlining the next steps to enable Ukraine’s accession to the EU single market.” Among other things, the resolution calls for an immediate and full embargo on EU imports of fossil fuels and uranium from Russia, and for the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea to be completely abandoned.
The text was adopted with 489 votes in favor, 36 against, and 49 abstentions. Of the Hungarian MEPs, representatives of the opposition parties supported the resolution, while the MEPs of the ruling Fidesz party did not participate in the vote.
Tamás Deutsch
In the debate, Tamás Deutsch, Head of the Fidesz delegation, stressed that Hungary condemns Russian aggression. “We are on the side of the attacked. We stand up for Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity, and we are doing our utmost to help Ukrainian war refugees,” Deutsch said.
He pointed out that
Brussels promised that sanctions would lead to an end to the war, but instead, the war is more brutal than ever, and Europe is being destroyed by sanctions.”
Kinga Gál
President of the delegation, Kinga Gál, argued that Hungary had supported Ukraine’s accession to the EU from the very beginning.
The candidate countries must meet certain criteria, such as the protection of minorities, including the rights of the Hungarian, Romanian, and Bulgarian minorities living in Ukraine,”
she stated.
Andrea Bocskor
In a statement sent to MTI, Fidesz MEP Andrea Bocskor – who comes from Transcarpathia, Ukraine – stressed that ensuring minority rights is an indispensable condition in Ukraine’s accession process.
The new law on national minorities adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament in December neither ensures the enforcement and protection of the fundamental rights of national minorities, nor does it improve the situation of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, but instead entrenches the restrictions of rights caused by the 2017 Education Law and the 2019 Language Law, Andrea Bocskor pointed out.
Photos via the European Parliament
