---
title: "Compromise with Budapest: Parliament Registers Law on National Minority Schools"
description: "Verkhovna Rada registered bill No. 16119 on national minority schools, requiring 50% of students to study in the minority language for EU integration."
date: 2026-10-05T15:56:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/compromise-with-budapest-parliament-registers-law-on-national-minority-schools
tags: [ukraine-hungary, verkhovna-rada, eu-integration, national-minorities, education-law]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Compromise with Budapest: Parliament Registers Law on National Minority Schools

![Building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in Kyiv](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/05/kompromis-s-budapeshtom-v-rade-zaregistrirovali-zakon-o-shkolah-natsmenshinstv/kompromis-s-budapeshtom-v-rade-zaregistrirovali-zakon-o-shkolah-natsmenshinstv-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Bill No. 16119 on national minority school status registered in Parliament
- The main condition for obtaining status is over 50% of students studying in the minority language
- The law is being passed in exchange for lifting Hungary's veto on opening EU negotiation clusters

A new bill numbered 16119, introducing the special status of a "national minority school," has been officially registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. This legislative initiative aims to resolve a long-standing language dispute with Hungary and unblock Ukraine's further steps toward full membership in the European Union. According to Sergiy Babak, head of the parliamentary committee on education, science, and innovation, the document is the result of long and complex interstate consultations.

### Essence of the Innovations and Threshold for Obtaining Status

According to the text of the registered document, the status of a "national minority school" will be granted exclusively to educational institutions where more than 50% of students receive educational services in the language of the respective national minority. This approach allowed the authorities to move away from the initial agreements of the previous negotiating team, which considered granting status if at least one specialized class existed. Experts note this prevents absurd situations where a large school of a thousand pupils would get a special status because of five children.

### Background and European Standards

The need to revise previous agreements was also dictated by practical risks in border regions, where classes of several minorities, such as Hungarian and Romanian, could operate within the walls of a single school. Ultimately, the Ukrainian side agreed on a "mirror requirement" that fully complies with similar legal norms in Hungary's own legislation and the vast majority of EU member states. This decision demonstrates Kyiv's readiness to implement European standards for minority rights protection.

### Implications for European Integration and Budapest's Position

The adoption of this bill is a fundamental condition of official Budapest in exchange for dropping its blockade of Ukraine's European integration process. As Sergiy Babak emphasized, the reached agreement implies that after the law is passed by parliament, the next two negotiation clusters on EU accession will be immediately opened, and Hungary will lift its veto. The compromise has already received positive political assessments from the leadership of Hungary, opening a window of opportunity for further EU enlargement.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Компромисс с Будапештом: в Раде зарегистрировали закон о школах нацменьшинств](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/kompromis-iz-budapeshtom-radi-zareestruvali-1791215289.html) - Основной источник информации о регистрации законопроекта №16119 и заявлении Сергея Бабака.
- [Украина пошла навстречу Венгрии: что изменит новый законопроект](https://tsn.ua/ru/politika/ukraina-poshla-navstrechu-vengrii-chto-izmenit-novyy-zakonoproekt-3180020.html) - Подтверждает параметры порога в 50% и европейские требования.
- [В Раде зарегистрировали законопроект об обучении на языках нацменьшинств](https://www.unian.net/politics/v-rade-zaregistrirovali-zakonoproekt-ob-obuchenii-na-yazykah-nacionalnyh-menshinstv-imenno-etogo-trebovala-vengriya-13516368.html) - Содержит детали о компромиссных договоренностях с венгерской стороной.
- [В Раде зарегистрировали законопроект об образовательных правах нацменьшинств для снятия вето ...](https://kp.ua/politics/a736805-v-rade-zarehistrirovali-zakonoproekt-ob-obrazovatelnykh-pravakh-natsmenshinstv-dlja-snjatija-veto-venhrii-na-vstuplenie-v-es) - Подтверждает увязку принятия закона со снятием вето на евроинтеграционные кластеры.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What percentage of minority-language students is required for national minority school status?
**A:** The status will be granted to educational institutions where more than 50% of children receive education in the language of the national minority.

### Q: Why was the single-class option rejected?
**A:** A one-class threshold would create a paradoxical situation where a school of a thousand students would get status because of five children, and cause conflicts in regions with multiple minorities.