00:03Ukraine's Parliament passed a law strengthening minority rights on Monday.
00:07The move eases years of tensions with Hungary and paves the way for Kiev to advance its EU accession talks.
00:15The legislation, approved by 266 of the 450 MPs,
00:21strengthens protection for the use of minority languages in schools and at cultural events.
00:26The rights of the roughly 100,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine's Transkarpathia region
00:33have strained relations between Budapest and Kiev for years.
00:36The previous Hungarian government, led by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban,
00:41had blocked progress in Ukraine's EU accession talks since 2023 over the dispute.
00:47In June, new Prime Minister Peter Magyar agreed an 11-point action plan with Ukraine
00:53and lifted Hungary's veto on opening the first two negotiating clusters.
00:57The breakthrough could also pave the way for the first bilateral meeting
01:01between Magyar and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
