Zakarpattia’s Slovaks, Hungarians ask Michel, Fico, Orban to support talks on Ukraine’s accession to EU

That’s according to the Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration and the European Pravda, Ukrinform reports.

"Representatives of the Slovak national community of Zakarpattia have published an open appeal to the Chairman of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico," the statement reads.

As noted, the community appealed to the two officials to support the decision to launch negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU during the upcoming meeting of the European Council, set to be held on December 14-15, 2023.

Also, the representatives of the Slovak national community of Zakarpattia strongly urge all leaders of the EU member states to continue supporting Ukraine on its path of European integration.

The address was published by the head of the public organization "Zakarpattia Regional Cultural and Educational Society of Slovak Women Dovira, Jana Dudash-Ryzhak, and the head of the Society of Slovak Intelligentsia of Transcarpathia NGO, Ernest Horvat.

In their address, the leaders of the Hungarian communities emphasized that over the past year, Ukraine has demonstrated significant progress in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission on ensuring the rights of national minorities.

According to their conviction, the new draft law adopted by the Ukrainian parliament reflects the interests of national minorities as much as possible.

"This step is important to confirm Ukraine's commitment to strengthening the rights of people of different nationalities throughout the country and in Zakarpattia in particular," the appeal emphasizes.

In addition, the leaders of the Hungarian and Slovak communities of Zakarpattia called on the leaders of the EU member states to continue supporting Ukraine on the path to European integration, because "progress in ensuring democracy and the rights of national minorities is an integral part of the Copenhagen membership criteria, and we believe that Ukraine deserves support her efforts in this direction".

It is emphasized that even in the face of the ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Ukrainian government continues to implement the necessary reforms and remains true to its European integration values.

As reported by Ukrinform, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed off the law on amendments to certain laws of Ukraine to take into account the expert assessment of the Council of Europe and its bodies regarding the rights of national minorities (communities) in certain areas.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, heads of diplomatic missions of EU member states were briefed on the ethnic composition of Zakarpattia region, also known in Eastern Europe as Transcarpathia.