Budapest had blocked Ukraine's membership progress for years over the treatment of its Hungarian minority, whereas Kyiv has previously dismissed similar demands from Moscow as "ultimatums." While the EU also agreed to close chapters for Albania and Montenegro, the most politically sensitive areas of the accession process—Cluster 4 covering green energy and transport, and Cluster 5 covering agriculture and cohesion—remain closed.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Ukraine's Language Law Lifts Hungary Veto on EU Accession
Geopolitics8 days ago
A new legal framework approved by the Ukrainian parliament permits schools to provide instruction in Hungarian, Romanian and other minority languages of the European Union. This legislative shift removes a long-standing objection from Hungary, enabling the EU to formally open Cluster 2 on the Internal Market and Cluster 3 on Competitiveness for both Ukraine and Moldova this Tuesday. The protections for minority languages in schools and cultural events explicitly exclude Russian-language education.
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