Members elected for the European Dialogue Forum

With loud applause by the Assembly of Delegates of FUEN on 24 May 2008 in Pécs/Hungary, the last seven representatives for the European Dialogue Forum were elected. The delegation of the European minorities in the newly founded forum at the European Parliament has been established now.

Nine candidates stood for election. Of them, Bernhard Ziesch, secretary general of Domowina – the umbrella organisation of the Sorbs in Germany, Dr. Koloman Brenner, Self-government of the Germans in Hungary and chairman for the German Workshop in the FUEN, Dieter Paul Küssner, chairman of SSF, of the Danish minority in Germany, Dr. Jacob van der Bij, chairman of the Council of the Frisian Movement, Aleksander Studen-Kirchner, from the Youth of European Nationalities, Nicolae Sdrula, from the Aromanians in Romania and Halit Habip Oglu, chairman of ABTTF, of the Western Thrace Turkish minority in Greece.

Together with both representatives of the Youth of European Nationalities (YEN), Hester Knol and Christiana Walde, as well as with a representative of the FUEN-presidium the delegation is complete.

The forum will meet twice a year, to discuss challenges, problems and long-term strategies for the autochthonous national minorities in Europe and the contact between politics and the European minorities will be brought into a institutionalised framework.

The document establishing the dialogue forum was unanimously adopted by the delegates.

The first meeting will take place during autumn 2008.

An own webportal for this above mentioned forum will be available soon.