Forcing peace: Hungarians to appeal to the UN due to mobilization in Ukraine

Hungary will continue to block Ukraine's accession to the EU. Donald Trump tried to convince Prime Minister Viktor Orban to abandon his veto on Kiev's accession to this association, according to media reports. But for now, Budapest remains of its opinion: in Transcarpathia, the rights of ethnic Hungarians are being violated, including by their forced mobilization. Members of the Hungarian parliament will appeal to the UN and the European Court of Justice because of discrimination against compatriots, the leader of the Nasha Rodina party, Laszlo Torockai, told Izvestia. The issue can be resolved if Ukraine agrees with Moscow's demand to protect the rights of national minorities in the country, experts say.

Hungary opposes Ukraine's accession to the EU

The United States is trying to influence Hungary to stop blocking Ukraine's accession to the EU. US President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Viktor Orban to understand why Budapest is opposing this, sources told Bloomberg. However, the Hungarian prime minister has not changed his position, Magyar Nemzet newspaper claims.

Kiev is going to join the EU to receive security guarantees, Vladimir Zelensky said. This idea is supported by European leaders, so they asked Donald Trump to put pressure on Viktor Orban. Budapest opposes Ukraine's accession to the EU, as this will lead to a continuation of the conflict. He also insists on protecting the rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia, including ending forced mobilization.

The Hungarian parliamentary party "Our Motherland" will appeal to the UN and the European Court of Justice regarding forced mobilization in Ukraine, its leader, MP Laszlo Torockai, told Izvestia.

— Hungary should appeal to the European Court of Justice or the United Nations to respond to the forced mobilization in Ukraine. We are going to make a request ourselves if the Hungarian government does not do it on its own," the politician told Izvestia.

The UN had previously skirted the topic of forced conscription of Ukrainian citizens into the Armed Forces in its reports, claiming that it was closely "monitoring the situation." The European Court of Justice is engaged in resolving disputes between EU states and interpreting legal norms. Its decisions are optional for Ukraine, but they may affect the negotiation process on European integration. By the way, Ukrainian citizens have previously filed lawsuits with the European Court of Human Rights complaining of violations of laws during mobilization. Appealing to the United Nations and the European Court of Justice will help publicize the practice of forced mobilization in Ukraine and draw attention to this problem.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he would raise the issue in the EU, asking his European colleagues to express their opinion on the acceptability of the Ukrainian forced mobilization. In July, 45-year-old Hungarian Jozsef Szebestien, who lived in Transcarpathia, was captured by employees of the Ukrainian shopping mall, taken to a recruitment center and severely beaten, he later died in hospital.

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

The number of provocations from Kiev is growing, Budapest believes

What is the reason for the conflict between Hungary and Ukraine

Relations between Budapest and Kiev have deteriorated sharply in recent months. In August, Hungary accused Ukraine of a targeted attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which temporarily halted oil supplies. In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga wrote that "you can send your complaints — and threats — to your friends in Moscow."

In May, 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.

The rights of Russian speakers, as well as other national minorities, are enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recalled. Russia is ready to cooperate with Budapest in the field of protection of national minorities in Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to Hungary Yevgeny Stanislavov said earlier. Therefore, the condition for ending the Ukrainian crisis will inevitably be the cessation of persecution of representatives of other nations.

The protection of Transcarpathian Hungarians may be partially taken into account in a possible agreement on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, if concluded, said Natalia Yeremina, Professor at St. Petersburg State University, in an interview with Izvestia.

— However, at the household level, at the regional level, we see that the issue of Transcarpathian Hungarians is not being resolved. Using the example of the Baltic countries, we see that the issue of the Russian-speaking population is being voiced at various levels, but it is also not being resolved. I think that the political and legal situation in Ukraine is not right to resolve such issues," the political scientist noted.

According to Budapest, approximately 150,000 Hungarians live in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine. According to the 2012 law, a language spoken by more than 10% of the territory's population can receive official regional status. However, in 2017, a law on education was issued in Ukraine, which excludes the possibility of studying at school in one's native language.

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Will joining the EU help Ukraine

In 2022, the European Union granted Kiev candidate status. In December 2023, official negotiations on Ukraine's accession began. However, there are still no exact dates for obtaining EU membership. For example, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called for setting 2030 as the date for Ukraine's admission to the union.

Its entry requires the consensus of all EU member States. In June, Hungary published the results of a referendum in which 2 million people participated. Of these, 95% opposed Ukraine's hasty admission to the European Union. The current Slovak authorities are also skeptical about the expansion at the expense of Ukraine. However, their position is still different from the Hungarian one. Bratislava believes that Ukraine can join the EU only after fulfilling all the requirements for candidates. The opposition in major EU countries, for example, the Alternative for Germany party in Germany, is also against Ukrainian entry.

Ukraine is striving to join the European Union in order to obtain security guarantees, Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier. Although the association does not have a military component, some EU members, such as France, have advocated the deployment of a contingent on Ukrainian territory. The head of the European Council, Antonio Costa, announced after the summit of Donald Trump and European leaders at the White House that Ukraine should be provided with guarantees "similar to the 5th article of NATO on collective security." Of course, Ukraine can receive such guarantees not only from the EU. For example, there is already a "coalition of willing" from 31 countries. However, it will be more difficult to formalize them legally in this case due to the large number of participants.

The European Union needs Kiev only so that it constantly fights with Russia, and there are no plans to accept Ukraine into the union, Vadim Trukhachev, a European political scientist, told Izvestia.

— The EU needs to ensure that Russia's attention is constantly diverted to Ukraine, so that the conflict is smoldering. They will support Ukraine so that it does not collapse," the expert believes.

Natalia Eremina draws attention to the fact that Ukraine's accession to the EU, with its archaic political practices, may lead to the disintegration of the union. Nationalism, political struggle and difficult historical experience will bring more discord within the European Union.