Electoral law: Hungarian MPs to appeal to the European Council over Ukraine

The leader of the Nasha Rodina parliamentary party, Laszlo Torockai, will address the European Council on the protection of the rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia. The politician informed Izvestia about this, noting that his party had received terrorist threats from Ukraine. At the same time, Torockai believes that Kiev will continue to interfere in Budapest's affairs. Earlier, the contradictions between the two countries escalated due to the espionage scandal. Hungary is currently considering the possibility of stopping electricity supplies to Ukraine. A referendum on Kiev's admission to the European Union is also being held in the republic, and the authorities are urging voters to vote against it. Experts say there are no prospects for improving relations between the neighbors in the near future. About how Hungary can hinder Ukraine on its way to the EU and NATO, see the Izvestia article.

Why have relations between Hungary and Ukraine worsened

The leader of the Hungarian parliamentary party "Our Motherland" Laszlo Torockai intends to appeal to the European Council, the politician told Izvestia. He stressed that over the past 10 years, the number of provocations against the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, which belongs to Ukraine, has increased dramatically.

— I discuss the situation with Transcarpathian Hungarians and Russians at every forum, I'm going to appeal to the European Council. Over the past 10 years, the number of provocations by Ukrainians has increased dramatically. Many anti-Hungarian actions were held in Transcarpathia, Laszlo Brenzovich was persecuted in Ukraine five years ago. In addition, the Our Motherland movement, a Hungarian parliamentary party, has also received terrorist threats from Ukraine," Torockai told Izvestia.

The European Council is a collegial body that consists of the heads of state and Government of the EU member states, the head of the European Commission and the Chairman, currently held by Portuguese politician Antonio Costa. He determines the main directions of the association's policy and can resolve controversial issues. The European Council focuses mainly on foreign policy, thereby it can put pressure on Ukraine to protect the rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia. For Budapest, this is a lever of pressure against the background of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, since the accession of a new member requires the consent of all states of the union.

— If desired, the European Union can influence Ukraine on the issue of protecting the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians, since Kiev is almost entirely on the EU's balance sheet. In addition, Brussels has promoted the protection of national minority languages as a condition for integration," says Vadim Trukhachev, a political scientist and specialist in Central European countries.

On the eve of the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warned that Budapest may stop exporting electricity to Ukraine (and it provides 40-42% of all supplies) if the European Commission agrees on a plan to abandon Russian energy sources. Before that, Vladimir Zelensky gave an interview to the Hungarian portal ValaszOnline, in which he accused Prime Minister Viktor Orban of "anti-Ukrainian and anti-European" policies.

In May, relations between Budapest and Kiev sharply deteriorated after the espionage scandal. The Ukrainian authorities claimed to have exposed a Hungarian spy network in Transcarpathia, which allegedly collected information to prepare for a possible military invasion of the region. Budapest, in turn, expelled two Ukrainian diplomats, accusing them of espionage, and canceled consultations on the issue of national minorities scheduled for May 12 in Uzhhorod. And on May 20, Hungarian intelligence agencies uncovered two Ukrainian spies who organized meetings with politicians and the military in order to influence Budapest's position on the conflict in Ukraine.

Kiev may continue its attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of Hungary, the Ukrainians are doing this on an ongoing basis, Torockai stressed in an interview with Izvestia.

— Of course, Hungary has already reduced its diplomatic relations with Ukraine to a minimum. She is also forced to step up her actions in international forums to protect Hungarians until the anti—Hungarian provocations stop," the politician concluded.

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The issue of the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians is the main contradiction in relations between Kiev and Budapest. According to the Hungarian authorities, approximately 150,000 Hungarians live in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine, which are concentrated in the Beregovsky, Vinogradovsky, Uzhhorod and Mukachevo districts.

According to the Ukrainian law of 2012, a language spoken by more than 10% of the territory's population can receive official regional status. In the same year, the Hungarian language received this status, and all documentation and work of the authorities were duplicated for Hungarians. However, in 2017, a law on education was issued in Ukraine, which excludes the possibility of studying at school in one's native language.

Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary have declared the oppression of their national minorities in Ukraine, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has called on Kiev to reconsider its approach to the Ukrainization of education. Nevertheless, all recommendations were ignored.

How Budapest can affect Kiev

Hungary takes a special position on the conflict in Ukraine: Budapest does not provide military assistance to Kiev, but instead promotes peace initiatives. So, during Hungary's presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2024, Viktor Orban visited Moscow and Kiev on a peace mission. In addition, Hungary opposes anti-Russian sanctions, and the republic has been able to achieve an exception to the restrictions for its projects, such as the construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant. The gas issue also has an impact: since January 1, Ukraine has stopped the transit of Russian gas through its territory, Hungary now receives it only through the Turkish Stream.

Budapest hinders Ukraine's integration with NATO and the EU mainly because of the problem of Hungarians in Transcarpathia. For many years, Viktor Orban has been insisting on the creation of territorial autonomy there, the return of the Hungarian language to the status of a regional language throughout the region and the restoration of Hungarian schools, political analyst Vadim Trukhachev tells Izvestia.

— However, Zelensky will not agree to this, because he will be shot by local Nazis. And without solving this problem, it will not be possible to settle relations," the expert emphasized.

The prospects for further relations between Kiev and Budapest depend on the results of the Hungarian parliamentary elections in 2026. If Orban wins, the status quo will remain, but if the opposition led by Peter Magyar succeeds, Hungary may postpone the issue of territorial autonomy until the end of its military operation and begin providing military assistance to Ukraine, Trukhachev believes.

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A referendum on Ukraine's accession to the European Union is being held in Hungary from April to June 20. As of the end of May, more than a million citizens took part in it. Orban himself voted against it and called on his compatriots to support him. Although the results of the referendum will not be binding, Budapest intends to present them at the EU level in order to justify its position against Ukraine's hasty accession to the union.

Gabor Stier, head of the foreign policy department of the Magyar Nemzet newspaper, however, noted in an interview with Izvestia that the referendum is a tool for mobilizing Orban's electorate, and it will not have a significant impact on politics. Budapest has few ways to influence Ukraine to solve the problem of Transcarpathian Hungarians. In addition to cutting off electricity supplies, it may slow down the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO, although Brussels, if desired, will find a way to circumvent the Hungarian veto. Therefore, we should not expect an improvement in relations between Budapest and Kiev in the near future.