Law No. 16119
Ukrainian law widening schooling in minority languages that are official EU languages, including Hungarian.
Ukraine's Parliament passed Law No. 16119 on 12 October 2026, widening schooling in minority languages that are official EU languages. Hungary then lifted its objection, and the EU opened two more clusters of accession talks with Ukraine on 13 October.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026
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Widened schooling in minority languages
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Law No. 16119 is a Ukrainian law on the educational rights of indigenous peoples and national minorities. The Verkhovna Rada passed it on 12 October 2026 by 266 votes to two.
It lets children whose minority language is an official EU language, Hungarian among them, study in that language alongside Ukrainian. Schools that teach more than half their lessons in such a language can take national-minority status.
Its political weight comes from Hungary, which had long pressed for the change. Budapest lifted its objection after the vote, and on 13 October the EU opened two further clusters of accession talks with Ukraine. The law is now part of the record of what Kyiv conceded on the road to membership.
Law No. 16119 unblocks Ukraine's talks
Hungary had blocked two clusters of Ukraine's EU accession talks and had long pressed for wider schooling rights for its minority in Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada passed Law No. 16119 on 12 October 2026 by 266 votes to two, and Budapest dropped its objection. The next day, at the fourth Ukraine-EU Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg, the EU opened Clusters 2 and 3, covering the internal market and competitiveness and growth.
The law therefore carries weight beyond the classroom. A candidate country works through six clusters of negotiating chapters to join, and this vote cleared the way for two of them.
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.