KYIV — Hungary has lifted its longtime opposition to Ukraine opening formal talks to join the European Union − offering a glimmer of hope to a country traumatized by war that sees membership as crucial to escaping the claws of Russia and securing a free, democratic future.
But even as Hungary lowered the roadblock imposed by then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was voted out in April, his successor, Peter Magyar, said the country would continue to oppose a fast-track accession process sought by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Joining the E.U. can take decades as aspiring member countries work to overhaul to every aspect of their government and public administration to comply with European standards.
Ukraine also wants to join NATO, but with that path seemingly blocked by the United States − in part to assuage Russia, which is fiercely opposed to Ukraine entering the Western defense alliance − Zelensky has said Ukraine must join the E.U. as soon as possible.
Magyar, however, said there would be no shortcuts. “If Ukraine succeeds in closing all 33 accession chapters within the next 10 to 15 years, Hungary will support Ukraine’s accession, subject to a legally binding referendum,” he said in a statement.
Hungary agreed to drop its opposition to opening the formal access talks after Kyiv and Budapest reached agreement to expand the rights of Ukraine’s ethnic Hungarian population — an issue that has complicated relations between the two countries.
Orban, while in office, bolstered his popularity by claiming to defend the rights of ethnic Hungarians beyond his country’s borders.
The fate of Ukraine’s community, which numbers more than 100,000 and is concentrated in the southwestern Transcarpathia region, was a particular point of contention, which Orban used as justification to block numerous E.U. initiatives to aid Kyiv while it battled Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Late Wednesday, Magyar announced that the countries had reached a “comprehensive agreement” to expand “the linguistic, educational, cultural, and political rights” of Ukraine’s ethnic Hungarian community.
“In just three weeks, we have achieved what Viktor Orban and his government failed to achieve in ten years,” Magyar wrote on X.
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