EU on charm offensive in Ukraine as Hungary blocks Kyiv's accession

By Lili Bayer

UZHHOROD, Ukraine (Reuters) -The European Union is on a high-level charm offensive in Ukraine this week, meeting the Hungarian minority in the west of the country to try to ease tensions between neighbours that are threatening Kyiv's accession bid.

Ukraine wants to accelerate work on joining the 27-member bloc, which it considers its most realistic path to economic prosperity and to creating a buffer against the threat posed by Russia since its 2022 invasion.

But gaining membership is not easy, with Brussels setting a high bar on a number of measures that Ukraine will struggle to clear and Hungary's opposition to the idea hardening.

BUDAPEST WORRIED ABOUT HUNGARIAN MINORITY'S RIGHTS 

Hungary's government has cited concerns including language rights of ethnic Hungarians and what it has described as the security and economic dangers to Hungary if Ukraine accedes.

"There is no enlargement without protection of minorities," European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told minority representatives on Monday in Uzhhorod in western Ukraine, where she visited Hungarian and Slovak minority schools.

Relations between Hungary and Ukraine have worsened in recent weeks after Ukraine said drones in its airspace could have come from Hungary, prompting Hungary to suggest President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was "losing his mind."

Both sides have expelled diplomats, barred news outlets and banned entry for at least one military official. Orban on Monday questioned the sovereignty of Ukraine.

In a school where students study Hungarian, Ukrainian and English, Kos spoke to teenagers about the EU, asked a student to read out loud from a Hungarian textbook and watched children perform Hungarian folk dances in traditional clothing.

"We are 27, and we hope that Ukraine will be soon also," she told them.

In a Slovak school, a teenager asked Kos about Ukraine's prospects for joining the EU. "Very good," she replied. "Perhaps one of you will be the commissioner."

ORBAN MAKES UKRAINE STANCE A CAMPAIGN ISSUE

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is closer to the Kremlin than most European leaders and faces a tough election next year, opposes Kyiv moving to the next stage of talks and has made his stance on Ukraine a campaign issue.

Officials in some European capitals see it as a cynical way to prevent Ukraine progressing toward membership.

"Hungary are asking for rights these minorities never had before and never claimed themselves," said a European official who spoke anonymously to discuss sensitive issues. "Romania also has minorities in Ukraine - never been an issue."

Ukraine and nearly all EU states want to start initial negotiations on six "clusters" covering areas such as rights and economic policy. Hungary is blocking the process, which requires unanimous backing from the bloc’s 27 members.

Ukraine passed a law in 2017 requiring all schools to teach students over the age of 10 in Ukrainian.

Some changes were made in 2023 but critics say the adjustments did not go far enough. Brussels is encouraging Ukraine to fully implement an action plan on minority rights adopted in May.

Speaking to the minority representatives, Kos said the European Commission will act as guarantor and supervise the commitments made by Kyiv.

"Believe me, I will be very strict," she said.

MESSAGE TO UKRAINE AND HUNGARY

The EU executive wants Kos's trip to send a gesture of support for minority rights and a political message to Kyiv and Budapest as it encourages Ukraine to continue reforms and urges Hungary to lift its veto.

"The message for Budapest is that we take the concerns from our member states seriously," Kos told Reuters in an interview in western Ukraine.

She said Hungary's concerns could be resolved in the cluster negotiations on minorities.

"Not even wanting to start negotiating on this, I don't think that this is fair," she said. 

Ukraine is pushing for negotiations to begin and says it has met all the requirements.

Hungary's government spokesman, foreign ministry and EU affairs minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"Much remains to be resolved, but the process is moving in the right direction," said László Zubanics, president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Ukraine.

EU SEEKS A WORKAROUND

Kos said she felt that, based on her talks, minority representatives see the benefits of EU accession but some also raised concerns about how Ukraine's minority action plan would work in education and healthcare.

She also had a message for Ukraine's government in Kyiv.

"The central message is that all the minorities are enrichment for the European Union. They should take it very seriously," Kos said.

European Council President Antonio Costa has floated an idea for opening the clusters without unanimity across the EU, officials said, thereby bypassing Hungary's objection. Changing the rules, however, requires the backing of all 27 states.

(Additional reporting by Olena Harmash in Kyiv, Anita Komuves in Budapest and Andrew Gray in Brussels; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Timothy Heritage)