Transcarpathia is the locomotive that together with Hungary pulls Ukraine to the EU

Today, March 6, the Consulate General of Hungary in Uzhgorod and the Regional Branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies presented scientific publication based on the materials of the international conference "The future of Ukraine after the 2012 parliamentary elections" held in Budapest late last year.

The major discussion in the Hungarian capital on the future of Ukraine between East and West, the further development of relations between Ukraine and the EU with regard to the signing of the Association Agreement, the Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and a positive example of Hungary in the liberalization of the visa regime between Ukraine and the EU was organized by the Hungarian Institute of International Relations, the Regional Branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Uzhgorod and the Central European University.

At the presentation, the Consul General of Hungary in Uzhgorod Jozsef Bachkai in addition to noting the development of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations also voiced the immediate plans: meeting of prime ministers of Ukraine and Hungary, representative conference in Budapest in May and another one in the fall.

The Director of the Regional Branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Uzhgorod Svitlana Mytryayeva said: at the conference they noted that when talking not about Transcarpathia, but Ukraine in general, the current Ukrainian-Hungarian relations have not yet reached the optimum level and there is a matter of the creation of an effective "road

map".

Among the "burning" issues with Central European states Svitlana Mytryayeva noted the following:

 status of a "foreign citizen" and dual citizenship;

 education in minority languages, the development of their culture;

 labor and illegal migration across the western border of Ukraine.

In order to find ways to solve these and other issues, the Regional Branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Uzhgorod initiated the creation of an expert forum for regular meetings of experts, politicians, different level deputies of the neighboring countries.

One of the speakers at the presentation said that if Poland took over the mission of the Advocate of Ukraine to the EU, then Hungary is a friendly speaker who informs about our affairs and the steps to the European community.