Council of Europe Head Urged to Put Minority Rights Back on Agenda

Loránt Vincze, MEP of Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), asked the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg to pay more attention to the rights of indigenous national minorities. He also proposed to Alain Berset the creation of an intergroup on minorities in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

“I have asked the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to put minority rights back on the agenda of the Council of Europe, to raise the issue of minority rights to the top of the Council’s priorities, as we feel that this topic has been neglected in recent years,” said Loránt Vincze in a statement.

During a meeting with Alain Berset in Strasbourg, Loránt Vincze, who also holds the presidency of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), said that in the previous mandate he had initiated the creation of a joint parliamentary delegation between the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament.

“The Council of Europe’s instruments for the protection of minorities, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, are the most important European instruments for the protection of minorities to date.

In the field of minorities, that unfortunately is still neglected by the European Union, the PACE could bring a lot of experience to bear,”

he said.

The MEP pointed out that a revision of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Council of Europe and the European Union would provide an opportunity to give greater emphasis to the protection of minorities.

The Council of Europe has always been at the forefront in the protection of minority rights, hence it would be important for cooperation between the two institutions to make better use of this knowledge and experience,”

the FUEN president said.

Loránt Vincze, who chairs the working group on minorities in the European Parliament, proposed the creation of an intergroup on minorities in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, that, in his opinion, could help to raise awareness of minority issues.

The MEP also noted that, as President of FUEN, he presented the work of the international umbrella organization for the protection of minorities. He informed the Secretary General that

the organization, together with international experts in the field of minority protection, was preparing a manifesto setting out plans and perspectives for indigenous minorities.

In this, they count on the support and partnership of the Council of Europe, he said.

The Romanian presidential elections were also discussed at the meeting. Loránt Vincze said that the parties in the governing coalition would run a joint candidate, because they believe that only by acting together can Romania move forward on the path it has embarked on, and thus “prevent extremists from taking the helm of the state who would lead the country off the European path and back to the past.”

If National Minorities Disappear, so Will the Majority