The ink had not yet dried on the founding document of the first Hungarian-Ukrainian bilingual primary and secondary school opened in Budapest, when the Ukrainians announced new restrictions on Transcarpathian Hungarians: according to the latest bill, students and teachers in Ukraine would not be able to speak Hungarian even during breaks .
Rada representative Natalija Pipa submitted the bill according to which
in schools, students and teachers would only be able to speak in Ukrainian, even during breaks, i.e. the use of the Hungarian language will be prohibited
- this was reported by Maxim Buzhanskyi based on the Gazeta , published by Mandiner .
The latter highlighted:
the adoption of the bill may have a negative impact on relations with Hungary, and Budapest will block all EU aid packages.
Both Hungary and Ukraine are interested in the development of neighborly relations, they share the same intention to do so, the government is doing everything to achieve this, but expects Kiev to restore the rights of the Hungarian national community, said Péter Szijjártó Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade when he met with the new Ukrainian minister a day earlier.
We expect Ukraine to restore the rights of the Hungarian national community in terms of access to the mother tongue, in the fields of education, culture and public administration
- the Hungarian minister told Andrij Szibiha.
Viktor Orbán agreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the settlement of bilateral relations, for which the Hungarian Prime Minister also announced that Ukrainian schools could be opened in Hungary. On August 31, the first Hungarian-Ukrainian dual-language elementary school and high school was opened in Budapest, where Ukrainian children can study in both Ukrainian and Hungarian. On the one hand, this promotes the integration of students, while at the same time preserving their native language and culture. The gratitude was not left behind, our neighbor to the east gave us another shovel in the treachery of the Transcarpathian Hungarians...
Cover photo: In the photo published by the Prime Minister's Press Office, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (b) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands at the press conference held after their meeting in Kyiv on July 2, 2024.
MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer