The European Union has taken a significant step in Ukraine's long road to membership, with member states agreeing to open two additional accession clusters in the negotiation framework. This brings the total number of opened clusters to four out of six, following Hungary's decision to drop its veto.
The breakthrough came after Budapest and Kyiv reached an understanding on the rights of Ukraine's ethnic Hungarian minority, a longstanding demand from the Hungarian government. The agreement, finalized during talks between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and his Hungarian counterpart Anita Orbán in Luxembourg on Monday, paves the way for further progress in the accession process.
According to diplomatic sources, the thaw in relations could also lead to a first bilateral meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels later this week. While no date has been officially confirmed, both sides are working to arrange the encounter, which would mark a notable shift in the often tense relationship between the two neighbours. Magyar himself hinted at the possibility in a weekend media interview.
A shift in Budapest's stance
Hungary's objections to Ukraine's education and language laws, adopted in 2015 and 2017, had long been a stumbling block. Those laws restricted the use of minority languages in schools, prompting repeated diplomatic clashes and leading Budapest, under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, to block Ukraine's EU accession progress. Since Magyar's election victory in April, however, the new Hungarian government has adopted a more pragmatic approach, seeking concrete guarantees for the Hungarian minority while signalling its willingness to let Ukraine's European integration move forward.
In June, Budapest agreed to open the first two accession clusters but made further progress conditional on Kyiv strengthening legal protections for its ethnic Hungarian community. The recent agreement appears to have satisfied those demands, at least for now.
What the new minority law changes
The revised Ukrainian law introduces a special legal status for schools where more than half of the pupils are taught in a minority language that is also an official EU language. Schools that qualified for this status when the law came into force can retain it as long as at least 20% of their pupils continue to study in that language.
The law also broadens the use of eligible minority languages in school activities and communication, and adds safeguards for native-language education when schools are reorganised or closed. Pupils taught in eligible minority or indigenous languages will be able to request translated questions in external examinations, except in language and literature subjects.
Crucially for Kyiv, Ukrainian remains the language of state education. The new provisions strengthen minority-language education without reversing Ukraine's broader policy of promoting the state language. The changes build on reforms introduced in 2023, extending protections to minorities whose languages are official languages of the EU. Russian remains outside the scope of the new safeguards.
Beyond the accession talks
Opening the next two clusters is another step in Ukraine's lengthy accession process, but it does not guarantee membership. Kyiv must still complete extensive reforms, and closing each cluster requires unanimous agreement among EU member states. Even though Hungary's objections appear to have been resolved, other EU countries could still obstruct progress.
Agriculture is expected to be one of the most contentious issues in Ukraine's accession negotiations. Some member states fear that integrating Ukraine's large agricultural sector into the EU's Common Agricultural Policy could put pressure on European farmers, subsidies and market competition.
The development comes as Europe closes ranks behind Ukraine amid ongoing security challenges. The EU's continued engagement with Kyiv, despite the complexities of enlargement, underscores the bloc's commitment to supporting Ukraine's European future.
