Citizens’ Initiative for Protecting National Regions Submitted to the European Commission

The Szekler National Council (SZNT) submitted its citizens’ initiative on national regions to the European Commission (EC) on Tuesday, Balázs Izsák, President of the Council, announced at a press conference in Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy, Romania).

Balázs Izsák recalled that their initiative “Cohesion Policy for the Equality of the Regions and Sustainability of the Regional Cultures” is linked to Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which lists the EU regions that are to be given priority in the EU’s cohesion policy. He explained that the SZNT is convinced that national regions should also be included in this list.

The signatories of the citizens’ initiative call for the EU’s cohesion policy to pay particular attention to regions that are distinguished from their surrounding regions by national, ethnic, cultural, religious or linguistic specificities.

Balázs Izsák. Photo: MTI/Kátai Edit

He recalled that the validation of the signatures took place in December 2021, with over 1.2 million of them valid at EU level, making the initiative a success. However, the SZNT decided not to submit it immediately, but to wait for “change” until the new European Commission is in place. “It was inadvisable to walk into the trap that rejected the other citizens’ initiative, the Minority SafePack, without any particularly acceptable reasons,” said Balázs Izsák.

The President of the SZNT stressed that the citizens’ initiative is an opportunity for regions where a national minority is in the majority, which differs from the majority in language and culture. He said that by trying to provide them with an economic path, the EC would also reduce existing tensions, and thus it could be said to be a path to peace.

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He recalled that the history of the citizens’ initiative spans 17 years, with the SZNT deciding to create and submit it in February 2008. In 2013, the SZNT won a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg, following the refusal of the EC to register the initiative. A period of referral and litigation followed, lasting until May 2019. The signature period was extended for a further two years due to the pandemic.

According to the information on the citizens’ initiative website, a total of 1,418,659 signatures were collected, of which 1,269,352 were declared valid. Support exceeded the minimum threshold in eight EU countries: Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Hungary.

In a statement, Katalin Szili, Chief Advisor of the Hungarian Prime Minister, said that

the submission of the initiative “gives the European Commission another opportunity to do something good for national communities in Europe.”

She stressed that this is the start of a process which she hopes “will be listened to by the European Union’s institutions.” While national regions would be recognized as special areas to be promoted, their specific situation would make them “strong bastions for the preservation of identity,” thus truly preserving the much-vaunted European diversity, she noted.

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