Due to the position of our partners from Hungary, the issue of ensuring the rights of national minorities was one of the most difficult in the work on European integration. Thanks to the joint efforts of the authorities, it was resolved by adopting the relevant law. They also managed to neutralise disinformation campaigns on this issue.
This was stated by Mariia Mezentseva, the MP, Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Ukraine's Integration with the EU, Head of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE.
“We worked with our partners, and we managed to convey the Ukrainian position, remove the negative, and neutralise disinformation campaigns that allegedly claim that Ukraine oppresses the rights of national minorities, such as Hungarian and Romanian. Our efforts were successful, and our partners supported us. It is important that we are taking new steps to ensure the education of representatives of national minorities in primary and secondary schools, we have special commissions that will start working in those regions with the largest groups of national minorities,” the MP said.
She emphasised that the Verkhovna Rada had unanimously passed all the necessary bills that the European Union had set as a condition for maintaining the candidate status. And now the European Commission has approved the negotiation framework for Ukraine's accession to the EU. The document will then be considered by the European Council, which should also have no problems.
“I don't see any threat within the European Council that the negotiation framework will not be approved. I am confident that it will be approved,” the MP said.