Hungary has given the green light within the framework of COREPER for the negotiating positions on two clusters of the process of Ukraine's accession to the European Union. These are cluster 2 "Internal Market" and cluster 3 "Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth", Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Szybiga announced.
“The process of Ukraine's accession to the EU is progressing step by step. Ukraine and Hungary are taking steps towards each other and towards European unity together“, Szybiga wrote. He thanked Anita Orbán for the joint work, which, according to him, is in the interest of the two friendly countries and a strong Europe.
Educational rights are part of the agreements
Sybiga linked the decision to the bill submitted to the Verkhovna Rada to guarantee the educational rights of indigenous peoples and persons belonging to national minorities. The text was approved by the relevant parliamentary committee.
The chairman of the parliamentary committee on education, science and innovation, Serhiy Babak, stated that the initiative should regulate the rights of communities whose languages are official languages of the European Union. According to him, the bill fulfills an important part of Ukraine's commitments to European integration.
The issue of the linguistic and educational rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine has been among the obstacles to the progress of the negotiations for months. Budapest's support in COREPER removes the blockage at this stage, but does not automatically mean the official opening of the two clusters.
Parliament returns to work on October 12
The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, announced that the parliament will resume its work on October 12. Among the issues expected to be considered are bills related to European integration and the further advancement of negotiations with the EU.
According to information from “European Truth“, following the COREPER decision, the preparation and approval of the common negotiating positions of the member states is pending. Only after that can an intergovernmental conference be convened at which the clusters can be officially opened. The procedure is expected to continue in the coming days if the Ukrainian parliament adopts the necessary changes to the education legislation.
Sources: ukrinform.net, eurointegration.com.ua