Zelenskyy signs national minorities bill into law
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a bill that redefines legal protections for national minorities into law, the president said in his Nov. 3 evening address. The law fulfills one of the key reform requirements set by the European Union for Ukraine to meet before accession negotiations can begin.
“I signed an important law on national communities today,” said Zelensky.
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“We have met another criterion for our Euro-integration. Additional guarantees for national communities in Ukraine, additional guarantees for our movement towards the European Union. We continue to further execute the recommendations of the European Commission.”
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The Ukrainian parliament approved the bill on Sept. 21. In December 2022, the Venice Commission examined the document and recommended reviewing several of its provisions, most of which concern the use of national minorities' languages.
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This law was also requested to be reviewed by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. For years, Hungary has obstructed Kyiv’s NATO integration, claiming that existing Ukrainian legislation violates the rights of ethnic Hungarians in western Ukraine.
On Nov. 8, the European Commission is expected to present its report on Ukraine’s progress in implementing key reforms Brussels outlined in June 2022.
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