BRUSSELS — Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak is coming to NATO to participate on the sidelines of a June 7-8 meeting among the alliance’s defense ministers. However, it will not be a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.
This is already the fourth time that a commission meeting at the ministerial level has been blocked by Hungary, a NATO member, as part of Budapest’s protest of Ukraine’s education law that requires public school teaching in the Ukrainian language. Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban contends the law discriminates against the more than 100,000-member Hungarian community in Ukraine.
Ukraine will be present in another format — the meeting of ministers representing countries contributing to the military mission in Afghanistan. NATO’s 29 members operate on a consensus basis, so one blocking member has considerable power. At the same time, the unanimity required makes it difficult to change policies, such as the alliance’s current one to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s war.
Furthermore, recently Budapest sent NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg a “memorandum to launch a new NATO policy on Ukraine.”
It amounted to a hostile attack on Ukraine as a “failed state” whose NATO integration should be halted until Kyiv ensures that the education law will “not restrict the rights of national minorities.”
As written in the memorandum, “while this solution does not, of course, meet the requirement of non-discrimination, it does, however, provide an opportunity to keep Ukraine on the path of NATO integration. Otherwise, the credibility of Ukraine’s integration process becomes highly questionable. In order to preserve stability in our immediate eastern neighborhood, NATO must adapt its policy on Ukraine to these new circumstances.”
The attack is, however, much broader. The “Ukrainian government seems to lack the political will and the capacity to carry out the fundamental reform programs,” Hungary contends, accusing Kyiv of failing “to properly implement a credible modernization agenda.”
One NATO official, speaking on background, said Hungary’s objections won’t change the alliance’s policy towards Ukraine.
“NATO provides strong political and practical support to Ukraine and there are no plans for this to change. Over the last years, Ukraine has implemented substantial reforms in the security and defense sector, but also in areas including health, education and welfare. It is important that Ukraine continues on this path of reforms.”
Ukraine is looking to resolve the dispute.
The Ministry of Education will hold talks with members of the Hungarian community in Ukraine on the language provisions in the Ukrainian law on education on June 5. Hungary offered Ukraine to set up joint working group to monitor the implementation of Venice Commission’s recommendations.
If a solution is found and Hungary drops its objection, Kyiv might be able to resume meetings with the NATO-Ukraine Commission by the time of the July NATO summit meeting of heads of state and government.
