You're reading: Hungarian declared regional language in western Ukrainian town of Berehove

The town council of Berehove in Zakarpattia region decided at its Friday meeting to grant the Hungarian language a regional status in the city, according to the regional UA-Reporter.com online edition.

A total of 19 out of 34 members of the town council voted for a resolution on the implementation of certain provisions of the law on the principles of the state language policy in Berehove, which was tabled by Mayor Istvan Gajdos.

According to the website, Berehove Mayor Gajdos is chairman of the Democratic Party of Hungarians of Ukraine and is 74th on the election list of the Regions Party in the elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Berehove is a town in Zakarpattia region in western Ukraine, near the border with Hungary. A total of 12,800 residents (48% of the town’s population) are ethnic Hungarians. Most locals can speak Hungarian.

All inscriptions on government offices in the town are in Ukrainian and Hungarian. There are Hungarian schools in Berehove, and some local periodicals are published in Hungarian.