Press release
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EFA celebrates victories in Parliament’s proposals for Treaty changes
European Free Alliance Group welcomes the new proposals of the European Parliament for the amendment of the EU Treaties.
Following the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Parliament has debated and adopted concrete proposals of amendments to the Treaties. According to the Treaty change procedure, the European Council is now expected to take a decision regarding the establishment of a Convention for the change of the Treaties.
From EFA we celebrate many positive additions to the treaties such as:
- The addition of the promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity as an objective of the EU in Art 3 of the Treaty on the European Union.
- The addition of language and belonging to a national minority as the basis for anti-discrimination measures in Art 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
- A completely new article in the TFEU on the protection of minorities
- And the strengthened role for regional parliaments with legislative powers in subsidiarity checks.
Francois Alfonsi EFA MEP on the file said:
“The launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe raised many hopes that Europe would move towards greater democracy, efficiency, convergence and respect for its diversity”
“Unfortunately, the process will remain incomplete, and it is a failure of our mandate not to have obtained the treaty revision process that the European Union so badly needs.
“The report that we will be approving tomorrow does, however, have the merit of setting out the broad lines of the revision of the Treaties that is needed.”
“For my part, as a defender of minority peoples and languages, I would like to welcome the following advances in Parliament's position
