The Commission Must Protect European Minorities

Europe is a cornucopia of cultures and languages. Some of those are represented by states, others should not. In truth, there are solely 24 official EU languages, and a great 60 regional or minority languages throughout the Union. Every seventh European is both a part of an autochthonous minority or the speaker of a regional or minority language. 

This signifies that there are upwards 50 million Europeans whose minority languages and cultures need to be protected. The Charter of Fundamental Rights outlines clearly, the ban of discrimination on the idea of – for instance – ethnicity, language and membership of a nationwide minority. Regrettably, this bears repeating, as many of those languages are “severely endangered”, within the phrases of UNESCO.

The European Citizen Initiative Minority SafePack was launched by the Federal Union of European Nationalities, because the EU is uniquely positioned to guard these minorities. It has been supported by an important vary of minority teams, equivalent to Sorbs, Frisians, and Hungarian Roma, in addition to Germans in Poland. It has been endorsed by the German Bundestag, the Dutch Tweede Kamer and the Frisian Parliament.

This broad group recognises that minority languages are liable to dying out, swallowed by majority tongues. Even in areas the place minorities are the native majority, public providers usually exclude the usage of the minority language. 

Moreover, geoblocking of TV and digital providers between international locations forestall individuals in a single nation from accessing content material produced in a given language of desire. In some areas, the minority tradition is cherished, however it’s not at all times so. Regional minorities are sometimes starved of the sources wanted to fund the tasks that may hold historical traditions alive. 

The SafePack brings ahead a complete set of reforms that may protect European cultures and languages. It proposes the creation of a European Language Diversity Centre within the type of a decentralised EU Agency, the inclusion of nationwide minority safety in regional growth funds, and the blocking of member states excluding minorities from media and cultural preservation funding. It additionally consists of the proposition of a single European copyright legislation, freedom of service and reception of audiovisual content material and the funding of language communities and associated analysis. Lastly, it requires an overarching EU advice for the safety in addition to the promotion of cultural and linguistic variety.

An spectacular 1 123 422 European residents signed the Minority SafePack initiative, and on 17 December 2020, it obtained sweeping help from the European Parliament with 524 votes in favour of the ultimate decision. 

With such an outpouring of democratic help, the onus is now on Commissioner Věra Jourová to heed the decision. There is an awesome common backing behind the stance that Europe’s many minorities deserve safety, and so the Commission has to behave on its authorized and ethical obligation with little or no danger. 

This push represents an opportunity to have lasting constructive impression for communities all throughout Europe. Europe’s wealthy and distinctive historical past is protected, enriching us all and the Union immensely. Be it the Breton or Occitan languages, or the Sámi tradition in northern Scandinavia, the safepack provides safety to a medley of cultures and languages that make up our lovely continent, in a means that weakens no majority tradition.

This is a matter the place Europe could be on the fitting facet of historical past, by preserving and defending a big selection of languages and cultures, and simply so, be actually united in variety.