Novák said the goal was to restore the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia to the state before 2015. Hungary's position on the matter is not "stubbornness", she said, as in Europe, the degree of protection of minority rights and the use of mother tongue enshrined in the law may not be rolled back.

"What we Hungarians are asking of Ukraine is really a European requirement, and if accession negotiations start, as decided by Brussels, this is the minimum," she added. 

Novák wished the community of Hungarians in Transcarpathia "strength and perseverance", at the Christmas holiday, too.