Blocking NATO: where the differences between Budapest and Kiev on the language issue can lead

Budapest is ready to unblock the work of the Ukraine-NATO commission, as soon as Kiev resolves the existing problems in the field of language and educational policy in the part concerning the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyjarto stated this during a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.

“We would gladly resolve the problematic issues on NATO, and would gladly abandon our veto.

For this, only one thing is needed: if the Transcarpathian Hungarians inform us that the issues of language and the law on education have been resolved positively for them, ”Ukrainian media quoted Siyjarto as saying.

The head of the foreign ministry also noted that the resolution of these issues is a condition for a possible meeting of Vladimir Zelensky with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

“This meeting must be taken seriously so that it is not meaningless.

First, we want to reach preliminary agreements on good-neighborly relations, for this the results of the meetings of the commissions are important ... If these meetings are successful, we will be able to agree on a meeting of the leaders of the countries, ”Siyarto stressed.

Hungarian veto

Let us recall that relations between Kiev and Budapest have worsened after the adoption of laws on language and education in Ukraine, which significantly restrict the use of the languages ​​of national minorities living in the country.

In 2017, the ex-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the law "On Education", which provided for the transition of the entire learning process to the Ukrainian language by 2020.

Then concern about this law was expressed in Russia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Greece, and in Poland promised to monitor the application of its provisions.

• Peter Siyarto

• Reuters

• © Adriano Machado

The Hungarian government then said that Ukraine could lose a friend because of the adoption of this document.

Despite this, Poroshenko said that the provisions of the law do not violate international obligations in relation to national minorities.

Due to the contradictions that arose, Budapest has blocked the holding of Ukraine-NATO summits several times since October 2017.

In June 2018, Peter Siyjarto announced that Hungary would block the commission's work until Kiev fulfills three conditions.

They consisted in extending the transition period for the introduction of Ukrainian as the only language of the educational process in schools, in refusing to spread new language norms to private schools and in establishing a dialogue with representatives of the Hungarian diaspora.

However, in 2019, at the end of his presidential term, Poroshenko signed another language law - on the exclusive use of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of public life.

This step was criticized by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.

The organization's experts said that this document could not provide a balance between the spread of the Ukrainian language and the observance of the linguistic rights of minorities in the republic.

In October 2019, Budapest vetoed a joint statement by the NATO Permanent Representatives to Ukraine, citing Kiev's refusal to change the language law.

In a commentary on RT, the director of the Institute for Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology Denis Denisov stated that the situation with the confrontation between Budapest and Kiev on the issue of Ukrainian language policy has become protracted.

According to him, Ukraine is in no hurry to respond to the statements of Hungarian officials.

“At the same time, Budapest does not come up with anything new, but continues to declare the need to change Kiev's position and block the work of the Ukraine-NATO commission, although as a member of the EU and a neighbor of Ukraine, Ukraine has much more opportunities, arsenal, and methods of influencing the Ukrainian government.

It can be stated that Hungary is not completely confident in its foreign policy position and, proceeding from this, approaches this issue quite delicately so as not to cause too much discontent among its European partners, ”the political scientist noted.

Policy continuity

Despite the fact that the language policy of Kiev caused rejection of neighboring countries and led to an aggravation in relations with Hungary, the administration of Volodymyr Zelensky continued to implement it.

So, in March 2020, Zelensky signed the law "On complete general secondary education."

This document, as noted in the office of the president, "introduces practical tools that will help implement the educational reform, founded in 2017."

The law provides for a gradual reduction in the teaching of subjects in the languages ​​of national minorities, including Russian.

• Vladimir Zelensky

• Reuters

• © Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / Handout

According to its provisions, it will be possible for minorities to study in their native language only in primary school.

For national minorities speaking the languages ​​of the EU member states, from the 5th grade at least 20% of the educational process should be conducted in the Ukrainian language, with a gradual increase in this indicator to 40% by the 9th grade.

In high school, teaching in the Ukrainian language should account for at least 60% of the annual volume of teaching hours.

It should be noted that for the Russian language, this norm was determined in 20% of subjects in Russian, starting from the 5th grade, and the remaining 80% of the classes will have to be conducted in Ukrainian.

An RT source in the Batkivshchyna party notes that if only the Hungarian language is granted regional status, this could lead to a split in the country.

“If Zelensky makes concessions to the Transcarpathian Hungarians and does not support the population of the Southeast, this could lead to a drop in the president's rating.

As a result, it turns out that the inhabitants of the West are considered, but the East is not.

At the same time, nationalists will not allow the Russian Zelensky to give the status of a regional language, ”said the interlocutor of RT. 

In turn, Andrey Suzdaltsev, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics at the Higher School of Economics, noted that this situation primarily demonstrates Ukraine's weakness, which, by significantly limiting the use of minority languages ​​in the country, puts itself in an uncomfortable position not only in front of Russia, but also before the EU.  

“Today the national issue is quite acute for Hungary, which gives the radical elements of the Hungarian political field an excellent reason to fight Ukraine.

The position and potential of Budapest is growing, and its position in the EU is strengthening.

This is due to the fact that the European Union is disappointed in Ukraine, which is unable to explain the language policy directed against minorities, ”the political scientist stressed.    

Denis Denisov recalled that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been holding the presidency for over a year, but has not taken any steps to change the language policy. 

“If Zelensky had the political will and interest in providing rights and opportunities for the Transcarpathian Hungarians and other representatives of national minorities for free education, this would have already been realized.

The President and his entourage, fearing the consequences of semi-legal nationalist structures, avoid resolving this issue, ”the specialist noted.

According to the political scientist, Zelensky will avoid making any decisions, believing the absence of any action is the best strategy in relation to this problem.

However, if there is a need for Ukraine's further integration into NATO, Budapest's veto will be revised without additional conditions, Denisov said.

“If the US wants Hungary to remove the veto, then this will happen.

This decision will not depend on Kiev or Budapest, ”the political scientist believes.

At the same time, Andrei Suzdaltsev noted that neither side is ready to retreat from their positions, which makes the situation a stalemate. 

“Hungary will not move away from its positions, which will be a huge obstacle for Ukraine.

Zelensky will not take such a step, because if he makes concessions to the Hungarians, then the Poles, Romanians, and also Russians must do it.

Such ethnic nationalism always leads its own carriers to a dead end, destroys any state.

Undoubtedly, Zelensky will try to raise the question of Ukraine joining NATO, but every day Ukraine's ill-wishers in the EU are becoming more and more, "the political scientist concluded.