Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on Monday 12 October passed law No. 16119 on the educational rights of national minorities, with 266 votes. It is the condition Hungary set for unblocking two more negotiating clusters on Ukraine’s road to the EU. According to European Pravda, Budapest has already welcomed the step.
The law creates a status for national-minority schools: one that more than half of the pupils attend in the minority language. It covers languages that are also official EU languages, so Russian is excluded. Parliamentary estimates suggest about 149 schools, roughly 1.2 per cent of general secondary schools, could qualify. Ukrainian remains the main language of instruction; if parents of at least two-thirds of a class ask for it, additional subjects must be taught in Ukrainian. Parents can obtain duplicate education documents in the minority language, and external assessment materials will be translated, except for language and literature tests.
Why does EU accession hinge on classrooms?
The dispute goes back to 2017, when Ukraine’s education law made Ukrainian the main language of instruction. Hungary, which speaks for roughly 100,000 ethnic Hungarians, mostly in Zakarpattia, argued their rights had been curtailed. A minorities law of 8 December 2023 (317 votes) was meant to answer Council of Europe and Venice Commission recommendations, but Budapest wanted more. Since spring 2026 Kyiv has negotiated with the new Hungarian government under Péter Magyar; in May there was talk of eleven demands. As late as 3 September, Magyar insisted Ukraine must follow the standard procedure with no shortcuts.
After Cluster 1 (June) and Cluster 6 (July), Hungary blocked the next step. Ukraine’s and Moldova’s paths are tied by the “package approach”, so Moldova waited too. Seven of 33 chapters are open for both; Cluster 2 (Internal Market, nine chapters) and Cluster 3 (Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth, eight chapters) would raise that to 24.
What could still go wrong?
Nothing is formally open yet. The negotiating positions have been ready since 9 October; member states’ ambassadors (Coreper) were due to consider them on the evening of 12 October, and all 27 must agree. If they do, accession conferences could be held on the margins of the General Affairs Council on 13 October. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha informed his Hungarian counterpart Anita Orbán after the vote and said he hoped the clusters would open as early as Tuesday. Reports differ on the signature: Censor.net says the Rada’s status record shows President Zelensky signing the same day, while UNN earlier reported only preparations for signing.
Our assessment, with caution: Hungary’s veto has been largely defused politically, provided Budapest keeps its word; the risk lies less in the vote than in implementation. Hungarian organisations in Zakarpattia backed the draft, but every application question – curricula, exams, funding – could spark new friction. Kyiv wants all six clusters open by the end of 2026; given the delays so far, we consider that ambitious. For Ukrainians in Germany nothing changes immediately: accession is a matter of years, not months.
Sources: Kyiv Post, New Voice of Ukraine, UNN, Censor.net, New Union Post
