For years, Hungary tied Ukraine’s whole EU course to ethnic Hungarians’ language rights. Kyiv has now passed the schooling law meant to lift the block

Ukraine has overcome a significant hurdle in its path towards EU membership talks, with Kyiv's parliament passing a bill on schooling in minority languages. This legislation, which garnered support from 266 out of 450 lawmakers, aims to lift Hungary's block on opening four negotiating clusters of Ukraine's membership process. These clusters, which cover the internal market and competitiveness, have been under Hungary's control due to its concern over the treatment of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine's Zakarpattia region, where roughly 80,000 ethnic Hungarians reside.

The new law maintains Ukrainian as the primary language of education while permitting classes in minority languages where they exist. Minority students are allowed to learn in the official languages of EU member states alongside Ukrainian, and may use their language in other forms of communication within their school environment.

A school can be designated a national-minority institution if more than half of its students study in that minority language, provided it is an official EU language. Parents of at least two-thirds of a minority class can also request the school to expand the range of subjects taught in Ukrainian.

The dispute over minority-language schooling has been ongoing for years. In 2017, Ukraine's education law and 2019 language law were seen as a reduction in minority-language schooling, with more Ukrainian being introduced in secondary grades. Then-Hungarian leader Viktor Orban perceived these changes as an attack on the Hungarians of Zakarpattia, leading to a block on Kyiv's NATO and EU progress for several years. Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine might hold elections if Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire.