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Session document
xx{22/09/2008}2.xx.2013
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
pursuant to Rule 108 (5) of the Rules of Procedure, by
Joseph Daul, Kinga Gál, Herbert Dorfmann, Bernd Posselt, Edit Bauer, Salvatore Iacolino, Véronique Mathieu, Manfred Weber, György Schöpflin,
Gyula Winkler, László Tőkés, Alojz Peterle, Csaba Sógor
on behalf of the EPP Group
Hannes Swoboda, Csaba Tabajdi, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Claude Moraes, Kinga Göncz, Maria Badia i Cutchet, Véronique de Keyser, Monika Flašíková Beňová
on behalf of the S&D Group
Nils Torvalds, Renate Weber, Sophia in 't Veld, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Hannu Takkula
on behalf of the ALDE Group
Lajos Bokros
on behalf of the ECR Group
Catherine Grèze, Francois Alfonsi, Judith Sargentini, Tatjana Zdanoka, Raül Romeva i Rueda
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Kyriacos Triantaphyllides
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
on the protection of traditional national minorities and languages within the framework of the European Union
P6_TA(2013)..........
Minority protection within the framework of the European Union
Draft European Parliament resolution on the protection of traditional national minorities within the framework of the European Union
having regards to Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty on the European Union and Articles 10 and 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
having regard to Article 21 the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, according to which any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited,
having regard to Article 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which obliges the Union to “respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity”,
having regard to the various legal instruments adopted by the Council of Europe in the field of minority protection, and in particular the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as to the various instruments developed by the UN and the OSCE,
having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions entitled ‘Non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all – a framework strategy’(COM(2005)0224) ) and the respective Parliament resolution of 14 June 2006 on non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all - a framework strategy ,
having regard to the EU framework for national Roma integration strategies established by the decision of the Council of 19 May 2011 and based on the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - An EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020, the respective European Parliament resolution of 9 March 2011 on the EU strategy on Roma inclusion (Járóka-report), and the conclusions on an EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 of the Council of the European Union's 3089th Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council meeting,
having regard to the Council Directive 2000/43/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (the Racial Equality Directive), Council Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (the Equal Treatment in Employment Directive), Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law (the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia);
having regard to its resolution of 4 September 2003 on regional and lesser-used languages and their conditions considering the EU's enlargement and cultural diversity (Ebner-report)
having regard to its resolution of 26 May 2005 on promotion and protection of fundamental rights: the role of national and European institutions, including the Fundamental Rights Agency ;
having regard to its resolution of 8 June 2005 on the protection of minorities and antidiscrimination policies in an enlarged Europe, (Moraes-report)
having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2006 on non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all - a framework strategy,
having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2006 on a new framework strategy for multilingualism,
having regard to its legislative resolution of 30 November 2006 on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights,
having regard to the agreement of 28 November 2007 between the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on improving cooperation between the two institutions and increase complementary initiatives and synergies and to the agreement between the European Community and the Council of Europe on cooperation between the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe,
having regard to its resolution on 5 February 2009 on Problems and Prospects Concerning European Citizenship (Urszula Gacek report)
having regard to its resolution on 24 February 2009 on Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment (Vasco Graça Moura report)
having regard to its resolution on 1 December 2010 on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union (2009) – effective implementation after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon (Gál-report)
having regard to its resolution on 22 November 2012 on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union (2010-2011), (Benova-report)
having regard to its resolution on 14 March 2013 on strengthening the fight against racism, xenophobia and hate crime,
having regard to the ongoing accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, which is an obligation under the Treaty of Lisbon,
having regard to the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality of the Lisbon Treaty,
having regard to Rule 110 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas more than 300 different national minorities and linguistic communities live in the European continent, 8% of the EU-28 citizens belong to an autochthonous, national minority; whereas nearly 50 million people, 10% of the EU population, speak a regional or minority language;
B. whereas the motto of the EU is “united in diversity”; whereas the EU Treaty is determined to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe;
C. whereas the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities; whereas these values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail; (Article 2 TEU)
D. whereas the Presidency Conclusions of the European Council in Copenhagen on 21 and 22 June 1993 state that respect for and protection of minorities is a requirement for membership of the European Union;
E. whereas addressing the issue of minorities, inter-cultural and inter-ethnic relations is crucially important for the future of the European Union, for its stability, security, prosperity and for good neighbourhood relations;
F. whereas the handling of minority issues is of crucial importance in respect of the internal and external legitimacy of the European Union, as well as its credibility and image as a human rights champion and as a global actor in handling inter-ethnic conflicts throughout the world;
G. whereas a great variety of national communities and minority groups are living in the European Union, such as peoples with states; peoples, nations without states, constitutional regions, inter alia which acquired widespread autonomous rights in the process of decentralization, federalization or devolution and due to their population, cultural, linguistic traditions and social structure can be considered 'peoples in minority status'; autochtonous, traditional national minorities, linguistic groups living in a Member State historically for a longer time; Roma communities, as traditional minorities in a special social, employment and housing situation; “hybrid minorities” who bear some characteristics of both the traditional national and the immigrant minorities; and the new, immigrant minorities;
H. whereas the majority and the minority share a mutual, but asymmetric responsibility for integration, the preservation and development of the identity, culture and language of the minority communities, and for the peaceful interethnic relations;
I. whereas the free choice of identity, the pluralism of identities and multilingualism are cornerstones of the modern European democracy in the 21st century;
J. whereas any attempt to force assimilation is unacceptable, while the rights to voluntary assimilation and the preservation of the original identity for the minorities are inalienable;
K. whereas preserving and promoting cultural and linguistic diversity within and between Member States is a fundamental value and at the same time a major task of the European Union;
L. whereas there are official languages of Member States that have not been included among the languages used in the European Union institutions, even though they are the languages most widely used in the respective regions concerned, in all areas of society, in the media and also in education, not least at university level,
M. whereas Parliament has repeatedly called on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to strengthen the fight against violence and discrimination based on bias, including racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, religious intolerance, anti-Gypsyism, homophobia and transphobia; (Resolution on strengthening the fight against racism, xenophobia and hate crime)
N. whereas there is a difference between the protection of minorities and anti-discrimination policies; noting that equal treatment is a basic right, not a privilege, of all citizens, (Moraes-report)
O. whereas there are no common legally binding norms on the protection of persons belonging to autochthonous, traditional national minorities and minority communities of the European Union, nor common and coherent practice;
P. whereas the Union has in the recent years applied the Open Method of Coordination in areas such as of social inclusion, employment policy, immigration and integration thereby contributing to the exchange of knowledge between Member States also with regard to the status of mainly immigrant minorities;
Q. whereas the EU is since March 2007 equipped with an institution responsible for the protection of fundamental rights including the rights of persons belonging to minorities - the Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna;
1. Reiterates the positions it has upheld over time on multilingualism, cultural diversity, the protection of traditional national minorities such as:
The need for a European approach
2. Stresses that fundamental freedoms, human rights, and equal opportunities shall be provided for all citizens of the European Union, however, protecting national minorities, regional and minority languages in an enlarged EU is a major issue and that it will not be achieved simply by fighting against xenophobia and discrimination, but by adopting specific legal, linguistic, cultural, social, etc. regimes and treatments;
3. Points out that various EU principles and policies, such as the rule of law, participatory democracy, welfare, decent life, social cohesion, the fight against any kind of discrimination and non-discrimination, policies pursuing the reduction of regional and social differences, cross-border co-operation, decentralisation, subsidiarity, respect for cultural and language diversity constitute indispensable conditions for the protection of both individuals belonging to minority communities and the society as a whole and contribute to the evolution of a more minority friendly Union, regards these norms as a necessary aspect of the European Union's commitment to enhance its legitimacy;
4. Underlines that with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon the term “national minority” as enshrined in Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights has become a legally binding term of EU primary law whose contours will be interpreted by the European Court of Justice;
5. Notes that under the Recommendation 1201 (1993) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on an additional protocol on the rights of national minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights the expression ‘‘traditional national minority'' refers to a group of persons in a state who reside on the territory of that state regardless of their citizenship; maintain longstanding, firm and lasting ties with that state; display distinctive ethnic, cultural, religious or linguistic characteristics; are sufficiently representative, although smaller in number than the rest of the population of that state; are motivated by a concern to preserve together that which constitutes their common identity, including their culture, language, traditions and/or religion;
6. Considers it necessary to differentiate between the traditional national minorities, regional linguistic groups living in a Member State historically for a longer time and the immigrant, new minorities, who arrived to their host countries for employment purposes by legal immigration; Stresses that there is a major difference in the obligation of the state towards the traditional national minority persons and communities and the immigrant, new minorities;
7. Points out that in the case of immigrant minorities the state must help primarily in the integration into the society, also by helping to learn the language of the host country;
8. Points out that the obligation of the host country to support the preservation of the original language, culture and identity and the political and civic organizations of the immigrant minorities is not up to the same degree as in the case of the persons belonging to traditional national minorities and constitutional regions, and speaking regional languages, as the latter have been citizens, taxpayers, constitutional elements of the country for centuries;
9. Points out the inconsistency of policy toward minorities - while protection of minorities is a part of the Copenhagen criteria, there is no standard for minority rights in Community policy nor is there a Community understanding of who can be considered a member of a minority; notes that nor is there a definition of minorities in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, or in the FCNM; recommends that such an definition should be based on the definition, laid down in Council of Europe Recommendation 1201(1993), of a "national minority" (Moraes report)
10. Considers that traditional national minority communities represent a special contribution to European culture, that public policies should therefore be more focused on their protection and that the Union itself must address these needs in a more appropriate way; (Benova report)
11. Points out that positive measures implemented for the purpose of protecting minority persons and groups, fostering their appropriate development and ensuring that they are granted equal rights and treatment with respect to the rest of the population in the administrative, political, economic, social and cultural fields and in other spheres shall not be considered as discrimination;
12. Considers that traditional national minority communities have specific needs different from other minority groups, that public policies should be more focused and that the Union itself must address these needs in a more appropriate way, since, with enlargement, there is now a significant number of such communities in the Union;(Moraes report)
13. Considers that no single solution exists for improving the situation of national minorities in all the Member States, but that some common and minimum objectives for public authorities in the EU should be developed, taking account the relevant international legal standards and existing good practices; calls on the Commission to establish a policy standard for the protection of national minorities; (Benova report)
14. Stresses that the European Union has to be an area where respect for ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity prevails, and where people are neither excluded nor marginalised in any way; points out that the EU needs to adopt a systematic approach to the preservation and protection of minority languages and cultures and that it should learn from best practices from all around Europe; (proposal of Mr. Winkler)
15. Deplores the fact that not all Member States have properly transposed the Council Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law; calls on Member States to prosecute xenophobia, racism and other forms of violence and hatred against any minority groups, including hate speech; (Benova report)
16. Advocates an integrated approach to equality and non-discrimination and the mainstreaming of these concepts in relevant EU policies; considers that the objective is to ensure that Member States deal effectively and appropriately with the increasing diversity of their societies; (Moraes report)
17. Considers that the clarification of the difference between equal treatment (prohibition of discrimination), preferential treatment and positive action aiming to create equal chances and policy-tools is urgently needed in order to create a uniform European understanding of these notions;
18. Underlines that the civil society and NGOs have a crucial role in the protection of minorities and the improvement of inter-ethnic relations, encourages the European Union to support these efforts; urges the Commission and the Council to improve cooperation with international organisations dealing with fundamental rights, NGOs and civil society in pre-legislative and legislative processes; (Benova report)
19. Points out that most national minorities, as well as most regional and minority language communities, are firmly anchored in the region where they live; believes that substantially more use must be made of the intercultural skills that minorities can offer for the strengthening of economic and social development and territorial cohesion; (proposal of Mr. Winkler)
20. Considers that the common provisions of the regional funds of the EU shall be adapted in such a way that the thematic objectives include the protection of national minorities and the promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity; (proposal of Mr. Winkler)
21. Recognises the importance of supporting and promoting cultural and linguistic diversity and providing funding for activities of national minorities, such as publishing, media or cultural events; while European state aid rules shall not deter funding for activities of minority communities, therefore calls for a block exemption that will clarify the state aid rules; (proposal of Mr. Winkler)
22. Stresses the importance of developing tourism in regions inhabited by traditional national minorities for the sake of the prosperity of the regions in line with the preservation of language, identity, and cultural heritage of the traditional national minorities; underlines the importance of guaranteeing the natural growth of language groups and ensuring basic conditions for the well-being of minorities; (proposal of Mr. Dorfmann)
23. Underlines the Union’s pivotal role in strengthening inter-cultural dialogue throughout Europe, with the aim of supporting solidarity as well as social and political cohesion; suggests efforts to promote confidence building between, and the co-existence of, communities traditionally living next to each other by teaching and learning about one another’s identity, regional identities, one another’s languages and one another’s history, heritage and culture, with a view to better understanding and greater respect for diversity; (Benova report)
24. Stresses the importance of permanent dialogue with and ensuring effective participation of traditional national minorities in decision-making and the public life on the local, regional and national level, stresses the need for legitimate organizations and proper political representation for the minority communities in the Member States as well as on the European level, with special regard to the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe;
25. Urges the Member States and the EU institutions to recognize the regional dimension of European policies and to enhance multilevel governance in the EU, with a recognized 'third level' status for the regions;
26. Underlines that the protection of individuals belonging to traditional national minorities and communities should be guaranteed in a coherent, parallel and coordinated way on the national (governmental, regional, local), and European (EU, Council of Europe, OSCE) level – a fact that implies the need to establish formalised channels of communications between the different bodies and procedures;
Principles of the autochthonous, traditional national minority persons and communities
27. Believes that it is in the interest, as well as being the democratic duty of a linguistic majority to secure the full equality of traditional and linguistic minorities and for the majority to ensure that minorities are entirely empowered in the pursuit of their cultural reproduction;
28. Points out that the state's main responsibility in the case of traditional minorities and regional linguistic groups is helping the protection and development of their identities, cultures and languages;
29. Underlines that every person belonging to a national minority shall have the right to freely use his/her mother tongue; his/her surname and first names in his/her mother tongue and to official recognition of his/her surname and first names; in private and in public, both orally and in writing. This right shall also apply to the use of his/her language in the media and in the audiovisual sector;
30. Points out that every person belonging to a national minority shall have the right to learn his/her mother tongue and to receive an education in his/her mother tongue at an appropriate number of schools and of state educational and training establishments on all levels from kindergartens to state funded universities;
31. In addition to the education on minority languages stresses that for persons belonging to national minorities learning the official language of the state where they live is beneficial; Measures must be taken by the state to ensure children's full access to learn the official language of the state;
32. Stresses that in the regions in which substantial numbers of a national minority are settled, administrative authorities, courts and legal authorities should publish all information of public interest in the languages of the respective minority or minorities, the persons belonging to a national minority shall have the right to use their mother tongue in their contacts with the administrative authorities and in proceedings before the courts and legal authorities, and the right to display in their language local names, signs, inscriptions and other similar information visible to the public;
33. Suggests to the Member States that they examine the possibility of exchanges of teaching staff at different educational levels, with the aim of teaching different school subjects in different languages, and believes that this possibility could be exploited, in particular, in border regions and thus improve worker mobility and citizens' knowledge of languages;
34. Stresses that the EU’s multilingualism policy shall protect and promote regional and minority languages by targeted funding and specific programmes such as minority language teaching for the majority, or teaching the history of the co-existing autochtonous minority communities, next to the Lifelong Learning Programme (now the Erasmus Plus programme);
35. Considers that the principles of subsidiarity and self-governance, power-sharing and co-decision are the most effective ways of preventing conflicts and handling the problems of traditional national minority communities, following best practices existing within the Union, encourages the use of appropriate types of co-decision and self-governance (personal-cultural, territorial, regional autonomies), including the possibility of fiscal autonomy, based on the agreement between the majority and the minority community fully respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Member States (vote in IG);
36. Stresses that all persons belonging to a national minority shall have the right to set up their own organizations, including political parties fully respecting the integrity of the state;
37. Firmly believes that both individual and collective rights shall be guaranteed for the traditional national minority communities in order to create appropriate condition for their development comparable with those of the majority;
38. Stresses that every person belonging to a national minority, while duly respecting the territorial integrity of the state, shall have the right to have free and unimpeded contacts with the citizens and authorities of another country, the kin-state, with whom this minority shares ethnic, religious or linguistic features or a cultural identity in line with the Venice Commission report on the preferential treatment of national minorities by their kin-state; stresses that there are still many barriers in regard to the transmission and free circulation of audio-visual and media content across borders in the European Union; (proposal of Mr. Winkler)
39. Considers that the existing EU funding programmes in the field of education, culture, media and youth are too complex for small cultural and language communities and that there are still criteria in the current programmes that exclude minority languages; stresses that simplified administrative procedures will facilitate access to these funds for minority groups; (proposal of Mr. Winkler)
40. Notes that exchange of best practices between regional and minority language communities in Europe should be promoted permanently; notes that better use of already existing institutional structures would facilitate networking and coordination between organisations working in the field of linguistic diversity and language learning (proposal of Mr. Winkler)
Promoting the rights of stateless persons
41. Considers that persons who do not possess the citizenship of any state and who reside permanently in the Member States face a unique situation in the EU;
42. Stresses that the situation of stateless persons permanently resident in Member States needs to be addressed, on the basis of the recommendations of international organisations; (Benova report)
43. Concerned that some Member States impose unwarranted demands on stateless persons or demands which may not be strictly necessary in order to obtain citizenship; calls on those Member States concerned to systematically bring about just solutions, based on the recommendations of international organisations; (Gazek report)
Minority rights and enlargement
44. Points out that the latest and future enlargements have led and will lead to an even greater number of Member States characterised by cultural and linguistic diversity; believes, therefore, that the EU has a particular responsibility to safeguard the rights of minorities; (Benova report)
45. Calls for more consistency of the European Union in the field of minority protection; strongly believes that all Member States as well as candidate countries shall be bound by the same principles and criteria in order to avoid the application of double standards, and warns that minority protection requirements in the accession process are inconsistent; urges in this respect the further fine-tuning of conditionality in enlargement policy as regards the minority protection criteria;
46. Calls therefore, as a part of resolving the so-called Copenhagen dilemma, for the establishment of an effective mechanism to monitor and ensure fundamental and acquired rights of minorities both in candidate countries and in countries already admitted to the European Union;
Tasks of the European Institutions and Member States of the European Union in order set up comprehensive standards for minority rights
47. Believes that the combination of the power and influence of the European Union and the already existing, legally binding and soft law minority protection mechanisms within the framework of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation would lead to the best results;
48. Urges all Member States who have not yet done so to ratify the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages as it was adopted as an enlargement criteria by the 1993 European Council in Copenhagen and was in principle obligatory for the 13 new Member States;
49. Urges the State Parties to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages to implement the recommendations of the Committee of Ministers based on the reports of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention and the Committee of Experts of the Languages Charter.
50. Stresses the need for a comprehensive and legally binding European Union protection system for traditional national minorities, regional linguistic groups and constitutional regions accompanied by a functioning monitoring mechanism; stresses that the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 and the accompanying monitoring mechanism may constitute an example for this;
51. Urges that the EU should incorporate the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages into the acquis communautaire;
52. Calls, similarly to the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies for the establishment of a European Framework of National Strategies on the Protection of Traditional National Minorities;
53. Promotes the setting up of a Subcommittee on National and Linguistic Minority Rights in the European Parliament, focusing on national and linguistic minorities within the borders of the European Union;
54. Calls on the EU to establish an EU Directive or Regulation against language discrimination that acts to protect regional, minority and endangered languages. Such a Directive will give meaning to the EU’s slogan ‘respect for linguistic diversity’ and help lead to the prohibition, and preferably the abolition, of discrimination on the grounds of language; (proposal of Mr Davyth Hicks)
55. Calls for a Language Action Plan that defines best ways to protect and to promote cultural and linguistic diversity, in particular in the areas of public administration, public services, education, culture, in the judiciary, media, health care, commerce and consumer protection as recommended by the Commission’s civil society platform for Multilingualism: (proposal of Mr. Winkler); urges the establishment of a structure dealing with regional and minority languages within the European Commission.
56. Calls on the EU to directly support endangered languages by fully financing language projects and NGOs working to revitalise them; (proposal of Mr Davyth Hicks); Calls the Commission to provide financial support to civil society network organisations in the field of regional or minority languages such as the European Language Equality Network;
57. Promotes the establishment of a European Forum of autochthonous national and linguistic minorities as an affiliated consultative, advisory body of both the European Union and the Council of Europe;
58. Urges the Member States:
a. to create the conditions necessary for effective participation of persons belonging to minority communities and/or national minorities;
b. to apply more systematically 16(2) TEU that provides a mechanism for regional input into the Council of Ministers of the EU by allowing members of regional governments to represent their Member State where regional matters are concerned;
c. to introduce constituencies for the European elections which respect the needs of their regions and minority-language communities, respecting the territorial realities;
d. to involve their regional parliaments with legislative powers in the early warning mechanism for national parliaments of Member States on the compliance by draft European legislative acts with the subsidiarity principle.
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59. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, to the Council, to the governments and national parliaments of the Member States and to governments and national parliaments the candidate and potential candidate countries.