EU welcomes Hungarian-Ukrainian agreement on rights of Hungarian minority - European Commission spokesperson

BRUSSELS. June 4 (Interfax) - The agreement with Hungary on the rights of the Hungarian minority is an important stage for Ukraine in its integration in the European Union, European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said.

"The [European] Commission welcomes the constructive negotiations between Hungary and Ukraine and the agreement to address the remaining issues concerning the rights of people belonging to national minorities in Ukraine," Mercier told a briefing in Brussels on Thursday.

The agreement was "facilitated by the dynamics of EU accession process and associated reforms," he said.

"This is an important step that paves the way to the opening of fundamental clusters for Ukraine and Moldova," Mercier said.

According to media reports, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar earlier said a comprehensive agreement had been reached with Ukraine on expansion of the language, educational, cultural and political rights of the Hungarian minority, which consists of 100,000 people.

This potentially creates a possibility for approval by Hungary of the opening of the first negotiation cluster on the path towards Ukraine's accession to the EU, Magyar said.

At the same time, Magyar confirmed that his government disagrees with the idea of accelerated accession of Ukraine to the EU.