European Parliament votes for the protection of minorities

The European Parliament has just adopted a report on the institutional relations between the EU and the Council of Europe that pushes for more rights and protection for national minorities within Europe.

The report calls for the EU to accede to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML).

The report also portrays the Charter for Regional or Minority Language as the key Europe-wide legal frame of reference that promotes the use of minority languages in private and public life as well as their teaching at various levels, including through immersion, with a view to guaranteeing their transmission.

Additionally, it stresses the need for Member States to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights and all case law established by the European Court of Human Rights, and in case of non-compliance, calls for the Commission to apply the Rule of Law Mechanism and the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation.

François Alfonsi, EFA MEP and Co-President of theTraditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages intergroup, said:

"The European Union must anchor itself in the field of the European Court of Human Rights, in order to structure the most important space for the defence of human rights in the world. In particular, the protection of minorities must be a strongly affirmed priority.”

“ With this report, we, therefore, call for the European Union to accede to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages."