At the last meeting of the inter-factional working group of the European Parliament dealing with traditional and linguistic minorities, it discussed the situation of the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine, where the participating MEPs were shocked to receive the reports of new restrictions on the rights and atrocities of Transcarpathian Hungarians.
At its meeting on March 25, the Minority Working Group discussed the current situation of Transcarpathian Hungarians, the restrictions on their rights, atrocities, negative media propaganda directed against them and their representatives, political pressure, threats and intimidation by far-right nationalists, especially concerning a member of the European Parliament. At the initiative of the co-chairman of the working group, a number of representatives sent a letter to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, in which they drew attention to the worrying situation and asked the High Representative to account for what steps he is taking to protect the Transcarpathian Hungarians.
In his official response, Josep Borrell confirmed that the EU is closely monitoring developments in Ukraine, including the situation of minorities. Respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, is a fundamental EU value. The rights already exercised by national minorities are protected by the conventions of the UN and the Council of Europe and the related protocols, and it is necessary to ensure them. He further expressed that the European Union has consistently emphasized this message in its various bilateral relations with Ukraine and will continue to do so in the future, including encouraging Ukraine to prepare without delay, in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission Act on Minorities.
Andrea Bocskor , Hungarian politician from Transcarpathia, representative of the European Parliament, responded to the contents of the letter and said: "It is encouraging that the European Commission has repeatedly confirmed its support for minority rights, including the Hungarians from Transcarpathia, and also condemns the extremist movements in Ukraine, as it has already done. this is also related to the Mirotvoreces listing concerning my person. But unfortunately, no significant changes took place . I hope that soon the promises will be followed by actions on the part of the Ukrainian authorities, in accordance with the expectations of the EU and the Venice Commission, a law on National Minorities will be drafted, which, in consultation with the minority advocacy organizations, will not represent a step back compared to the previous law. Furthermore, I hope that they will stop punishing and criminalizing Transcarpathian Hungarians, and that they can live peacefully in their homeland as citizens with equal rights."
Gál Kinga , the Fidesz co-chairman of the Minority Working Group, welcomed that the High Representative's answer finally differs from the usual non-committal and evasive answers from the European Commission. "The Commission has now finally admitted that it knows about the violations affecting Transcarpathian Hungarians, as well as provisions and draft laws that violate the rights of national minorities in Ukraine. In his reply, the High Representative confirmed that he consistently takes account of the standards and guarantees prescribed by the UN and the Council of Europe during EU-Ukraine relations and negotiations. I hope that this will be the case and not just empty promises. "We are doing everything we can to keep the worrying situation of Transcarpathian Hungarians on the agenda and to provide continuous information about the unfortunately still worrying developments - thus putting pressure on the Ukrainian authorities," added Kinga Gál.
The original article can be read here: magyarhirlap.hu
Cover image source: vasarnap.hu
Internal image source: karpathir.com
