Ukraine files minority-schooling bill as Hungary agrees to unblock two EU-accession clusters

Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has put forward a bill addressing minority-language schooling. A vote on the legislation is scheduled for 12 October.

The bill is tied to an agreement reached with Hungary, which has long blocked several of Ukraine's EU-accession negotiation clusters. Under the terms of the deal, once the bill becomes law, Hungary has committed to stop blocking two of those negotiation clusters.

Hungary has been among the EU member states most resistant to advancing Ukraine's accession process, citing concerns over the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine regarding education. The new bill is seen as a step that could ease this point of contention and potentially open the way for further progress in negotiations.

The EU accession process is divided into multiple negotiation clusters, each of which requires unanimous agreement among member states to be opened or closed. Hungary's blocking stance has been one of the most significant obstacles to Ukraine's EU integration process to date.

It remains unclear how far this agreement will extend to the broader accession process, and whether Hungary will also support the opening of other clusters going forward.