Good morning from Brussels. I’m Mared Gwyn.
We start with a major development in Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union. Hungary last night lifted its two-year-long veto on Kyiv’s accession talks after Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced a deal on the rights of the Hungarian-speaking minority in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region – an issue at the heart of the previous Orbán-led government’s staunch opposition to the talks.
"We have reached a comprehensive agreement with Ukraine on the expansion of the linguistic, educational, cultural and political rights of the 100,000-strong Hungarian minority," Magyar said on Wednesday in a Facebook video. His government had been in regular talks with Ukrainian counterparts to smooth over the issue in order to clear the way for Kyiv’’s accession bid.
Ukraine did not immediately confirm the content of the deal, but the country's deputy prime minister for European integration, Taras Kachka, thanked Hungary for its “constructive engagement”.
“We are opening a new chapter in Ukraine-Hungary relations – one built on mutual respect, trust, and our shared European future. Ukraine is moving forward,” Minister Kachka said.
