Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law strengthening minority rights that could help unlock the next stage of negotiations with the European Union. Euronews reports that 266 members of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, backed the legislation in a vote on 12 October 2026. Further progress still depends on Hungary, however: its agreement to open additional areas of the talks has not yet been confirmed.
According to Euronews, the law strengthens protections for the use of minority languages in schools and at cultural events. This is an important issue in relations between Kyiv and Budapest: the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region have been a source of dispute between the two countries for years. Parliamentary approval does not mean the legislation is already in force, and the report does not specify when it will take effect.
Budapest had been waiting for the legislation
Minority rights are closely linked to Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations. Euronews reports that Hungary’s prime minister, Péter Magyar, agreed an 11-point action plan with Ukraine in June and lifted Hungary’s veto on opening the first two negotiating clusters — groups of policy areas covered by the membership talks. Budapest had made further progress conditional on Ukraine formally passing minority rights legislation.
Following Monday’s vote, diplomats quoted by Euronews expect Hungary to agree to open two more clusters, covering the internal market and competitiveness, at Tuesday’s intergovernmental conference. For now, however, this remains an expected outcome rather than an announced decision. Opening further areas of the talks would not mean that negotiations had been completed or that Ukraine had joined the EU.
Direct contact between the two countries’ leaders is also possible. According to Euronews, Magyar said over the weekend that he might meet Volodymyr Zelensky at Thursday’s European Council summit in Brussels. The meeting has not been definitively confirmed. The coming decisions will therefore show whether the passage of the law translates into further progress in accession talks.
