Another Step of Ukraine towards the EU

After many years of tense discussions about the rights of national minorities in Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted another amendment to the law that regulates and guarantees the observance of national minority rights. Undoubtedly, one of the main incentives for Ukrainian MPs is fulfilling one of the European Commission's requests, which should serve as another marker of Ukraine's readiness to join the EU. The need to resolve the contradictions between Ukraine and Hungary is equally significant for Ukraine's European integration. Did Kyiv manage to hit two targets with one shot?

The context of the most pressing issue in relations between Kyiv and Budapest is evident. Frankly, it's the imposition of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's policies. Such policies include creating a correlation between Ukraine's national policy and its European integration ambitions. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has demonstrated a desire to resolve the conflict with the Hungarians over what they see as the infringement of national minorities' educational rights, including the Hungarian minority. The ongoing political conflict has lasted so long that neither side remained blameless.

The analysis and conclusions of the Venice Commission can help to outline a specific legal framework that guarantees the realization of the cultural rights of national minorities following European standards. It is precisely to implement the Commission's recommendations that Ukraine amended the current legislation. Therefore, Ukrainian MPs are once again trying to find a balance between the Commission's objective recommendations, their national policies, and the requirements of individual countries.

Better an Imperfect Law than Perfect Lawlessness

It will be possible to assess whether Ukraine's legislation on the protection of national minority rights complies with European standards after the Venice Commission's analysis. However, Ukraine can hope for a positive conclusion given that the amendments to the law expand the rights of national minorities. The most significant changes are in the field of education. From now on, Ukrainian legislation guarantees the possibility of obtaining a school education in the mother tongue. The same applies to higher education (in private institutions). Studying Ukrainian as the state language remains compulsory. Schools are also to teach Ukrainian history and literature exclusively in the state language.

In addition, representatives of national minorities, according to new amendments to the law, have the opportunity to develop their publishing houses and media. The same applies to advertising and names in minority areas. However, it is significant to note that while political campaigning in minority languages is allowed, it must be duplicated in the state language. The political aspect of the national policy on minorities is very sensitive for Ukraine. Historically, Ukraine has paid dearly for its openness to multiculturalism and pluralism.

Culture Is Separate, Politics Is Separate

Given the context of Russia's war against Ukraine and the Kremlin's use of cultural factors to shape and support its aggression against our country, the issue of Russian speakers' rights has long been exploited by Moscow. In particular, the Russian diaspora in Crimea has become a formal pretext for the Kremlin to annex the peninsula, initially sending "little green men." Moscow even uses a common religion with Kyiv as a pretext to justify aggression, as the Russian Orthodox Church constantly reminds us. Therefore, the exploitation of Russian culture to promote expansion is a factor that causes Russophobia, according to Russian propaganda.

If we peel back all the layers of Russian fakes and open the Constitution of Ukraine, Article 10 reads: "In Ukraine, the free development, use and protection of Russian, and other languages of national minorities of Ukraine, is guaranteed." In other words, Russian, even though there are no objective legal reasons for this, is spelled out separately. Similarly, despite the wishes of certain Ukrainian politicians, there are no problems with the functioning of Russian at the everyday level in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Russian

The phenomenon of the fairly free functioning of Russian in Ukraine, even amid a full-scale war, is that Ukrainian society and even its Russian-speaking part has learned to sense political implications in the language issue. At the casual level, "Ukrainian Russian" lives on in its natural forms. However, Russian speakers do not want to be politically associated with Russia. That is why, when responding to questions from sociologists, Russian-speaking Ukrainians choose answers that reflect their political views.

In March 2022, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the share of the Ukrainian population that considered itself Russian (5%) was not considerably higher than the statistical error. Roughly speaking, this was the percentage of those wishing to become Russia. "So-called systematic harassment and persecution of Russian-speaking citizens is a lie for ordinary Ukrainians, as it contradicts their everyday experience of peaceful coexistence between different languages in Ukraine with respect for the Ukrainian language as a symbol of Ukrainian statehood," says sociologist Anton Hrushetsky in his expert commentary on the results of the poll conducted in early summer 2023.

One may consider this a sign indicating the evolution of Ukrainian society from a "cultural" national concept to a modern "psychological" one. The defining feature of nationality is the identification and awareness of being part of, in our case, the Ukrainian nationality, regardless of race, religion, language, and other factors prominent in the 19th-century "cultural" concept of a nation.

What's Next?

The new amendments to the Law on National Minorities retain restrictions on the languages of national minorities (communities), which are the state (official) language of the state recognized by the Verkhovna Rada as an aggressor state or an occupying state, are transferred from the final and transitional provisions of the laws of Ukraine to the body of documents, and therefore do not have a time frame. The restrictions reflect the need for a safeguard against future opportunities to use Ukrainians' openness to multiculturalism against Ukraine's national security. 

The EU countries that shared the Soviet misfortune in the past also had to look for legislative safeguards that protect national security interests from the barbaric policies of the Kremlin regime. 

Unfortunately, it is unrealistic to expect that the Law on National Minorities in line with European standards will resolve the contradictions between Kyiv and Budapest. There are objective reasons to believe that Viktor Orban will continue to terrorize Ukraine in the diplomatic arena. The Hungarian prime minister has already announced his next move, which will not only create obstacles to Ukraine's legal European integration but also allow him to continue deliberately playing along with the Kremlin's aggressive policy. We are dealing with a government that has openly switched to a Russian position. Orban does not hide it," as indicated by remarks from Donald Tusk, the leader of Poland’s Civic Platform and former President of the European Council.

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The Law on National Minorities under European standards is nevertheless an important step. It is not immune from further speculations by Orban and other friends of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin; however, it brings Ukraine closer to the family of European countries based on common values. Therefore, there are hopes that the Ukrainian MPs at least achieved the primary goal. Yet, it is becoming increasingly clear that changes are long overdue in European institutions. The proponents of the Putin-Orban policy will always be eager to take advantage of their absence.