The European Commission (EC) refuses the 1 Million Signatures Campaign of the Minority SafePack Initiative!

ABTTF President Halit Habipoğlu: The Commission’s refusal caused a great disappoint-ment among Europe’s national minorities!

The European Commission (EC) has refused to register the 1 Million Signatures Campaign submit-ted by the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), the South Tyrolean People’s Party (SVP), Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) and the Youth of European Na-tionalities (YEN) within the framework of the Minority SafePack Initiative.

In its response dated 16 September 2013, the EC refused to register “Minority SafePack Initiative” on the ground that the proposed citizens’ initiative falls outside the framework of the Commission’s powers. The “1 Million Signatures” Campaign, of which the Western Thrace Turkish Minority has been a party, had been given start at the FUEN Congress held in June 2013. An official request for the registry had been submitted to the EC on 15 July 2013. The EC, on the final date for the official response, refused the initiative, which would have constituted the first step for the protection of Europe’s national and linguistic minorities.

FUEN President Hans-Heinrich Hansen contended EC’s response as non-comprehensive from their side and added that FUEN does not agree with the EC on the reasoning for refusal that the 1 Million Signatures campaign falls out of competences of the EC. RMDSZ President Hunor Kele-men, member of the Citizen Committee formed for the proposed initiative, said that the EC’s response is influenced by political dynamics as the legal and technical procedures had been followed in line with the EC requirements.

Currently, the partners are considering ways for appeal against the decision of the EC. The dialog meeting to be held on 26 September 2013 at the European Parliament in Brussels will include dis-cussion on “Minority SafePack” within the framework of European Citizen Initiative for the minorities.

Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) President Halit Habipoğlu, “The EC’s re-fusal of the 1 Million signatures Campaign, which would build the first step to form a protection mechanism at EU level for Europe’s national and linguistic minorities, has caused a big disappoint-ment. Seeing an initiative, both technically and legally well-grounded, be refused by the European Commission is only astonishing”.