Hungary cannot support Ukraine's transatlantic and European integration as long as the Hungarian schools in Transcarpathia, Ukraine, are in danger, the foreign minister argued.Continue reading
The new laws on minorities may hinder Ukraine’s European integration efforts, therefore the Hungarian Cultural Association of Transcarpathia (KMKSZ) in Ukraine has sent its shadow report and expert opinion to the Venice Commission, which is negotiating the law, the KMKSZ announced in a statement.
The Transcarpathian organization emphasized that it has supported Ukraine’s European integration efforts from the very beginning and considers it important that the harmonization of EU law should ensure the rights of minorities, “and thus the Hungarians of Transcarpathia will regain their rights guaranteed in the Constitution in practice.”
For all Ukrainian citizens, it is of the utmost importance that Ukraine starts accession negotiations with the European Union as soon as possible, according to the document. The KMKSZ is therefore concerned that restrictions on language use and education continue to be imposed, “which could hinder Ukraine’s integration into the European Union.”
The KMKSZ has prepared a shadow report and an expert opinion on the new Ukrainian law on minority rights with the involvement of Hungarian professional and interest organizations and experts from Transcarpathia, and sent it to the Venice Commission, the UN, and the competent bodies of the Council of Europe, which is negotiating the Ukrainian minority law, the statement said.
Specifically, the KMKSZ lists several areas where the principle of equal treatment is disregarded. For example, contrary to past practice, the school authorities do not intend to translate the test items corresponding to the matriculation examination into Hungarian, which seriously jeopardizes access to higher education. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine still refuses to reform Ukrainian language teaching on the basis of competencies, which results in requiring knowledge of the Ukrainian language from members of minorities according to the standards of prospective Ukrainian philologists. The transition to predominantly Ukrainian instruction in high school is being brought forward, although according to the Education Law this should have been done by 2027. Discriminatory language quotas in the media are also being enforced earlier than required by law.
Via MTI, Featured Photo: Twitter Ursula von der Leyen