Ukraine says EU set to open next accession stages after Kyiv passes minority rights law

Ukraine expects the European Union to approve opening ‌the second and third stages of its accession talks on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Monday.

Earlier ‌on Monday, Ukraine's parliament passed legislation expanding the ‌rights of Hungarian speakers and other minorities to receive education in their native language, part of an agreement with Hungary's ⁠new ​government to ⁠drop objections that had blocked Kyiv's EU membership bid. Sybiha said ⁠he met his Hungarian counterpart Anita Orban on the ​sidelines of a Foreign Affairs Council meeting ⁠in Luxembourg on Monday and they welcomed the implementation of ⁠bilateral agreements ​between the two countries.

"We welcome today's important step by the Ukrainian Parliament on minority ⁠education rights," Orban said on X. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed ⁠the ⁠bill into law later on Monday, the Ukrainian parliament's website showed.