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Stoltenberg: Ukraine's EOP status hasn’t solved problem with Hungary

16 June 2020 19:56 (UTC +04:00)

NATO has granted Ukraine the Enhanced Opportunity Partnership status because of the active bilateral cooperation, but this does not mean that the problems with the organization of ministerial meetings within the NATO-Ukraine Commission have already been solved, APA reports citing Ukrinform.

This was announced by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the meetings of NATO Defence Ministers on Tuesday, an Ukrinform own correspondent reports.

“NATO Allies have decided to grant Ukraine the Enhanced Opportunity Partnership status because Ukraine has proven to be a highly valued partner for NATO, we work with them in many different ways. This is a way to further deepen our partnership with Ukraine. On the issue of ministerial meeting in the NATO-Ukraine Commission, that issue is not yet solved, it is the issue we are still addressing, and I hope that we will find a way to solve it,” Stoltenberg said, asking a question whether granting Ukraine the EOP status means lifting Hungary’s veto on holding ministerial meetings within the framework of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.

As reported, Hungary blocks Ukraine's participation at the level of ministers of defence and foreign affairs in the format of the NATO-Ukraine Commission due to disagreement with the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Education", which entered into force on 28 September 2017 and defines the state language of Ukraine as the language of the educational process in the Ukrainian educational establishments. Hungary believes that this law restricts the rights of national minorities and, in particular, the Hungarian community in Ukraine.