Resolution on National Minorities by the European Parliament

MEPs asked all EU member states to ratify the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

The European Parliament (EP) adopted the resolution on “Protection and non-discrimination with regard to minorities in the EU Member States” submitted by the Member of the European Parliament(MEP) Cecilia Wickström at the plenary session of 7 February 2018 in Strasbourg.

In the resolution submitted by MEP Wikström noted that persons belonging to minorities in the EU countries submitted several petitions raising discrimination in many issues to the EP Committee of Petitions and added that discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin is cited as the most common form of discrimination. Wikström further noted that petitioners are concerned about the lack of a comprehensive EU response and protection when it comes to their linguistic and other minority rights. Therefore Wikström, on behalf of the Committee of Petitions submitted a draft resolution on protection and non-discrimination with regard to minorities in the EU Member States in January 2018. The draft resolution has been adopted at the plenary session after the vote at the General Assembly on Wednesday.

In the resolution which received the support of MEPs, it has been observed that minority issues have not been high enough on the EU agenda concerning combating discrimination against autochthonous, national and linguistic minorities. The resolution noted that the EU is believed to have a responsibility to protect and promote the rights of minorities and added that it has been considered to be necessary to improve the EU’s legislative framework to protect the rights of persons belonging to minorities in a comprehensive manner. Furthermore, it is noted that the EU lacks effective tools to monitor respect for minority rights. The resolution called for effective EU-wide monitoring of the situation of autochthonous and linguistic minorities.

Concerning EU legal framework on minorities, the resolution highlighted that the rights of national minorities and the protection thereof are integral to the rule of law as laid down in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Copenhagen Document signed in 1990. Therefore, the resolution called on the Member States to ensure that their legal systems guarantee that persons belonging to a minority are not discriminated against. Furthermore, MEPs called on all Member States to sign, ratify and enforce the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), stated “The resolution about protection of national minorities adopted by the European Parliament is a crucial decision for national minorities of about 100 million living in Europe. In the resolution drafted by Cecilia Wikström on behalf of EP Committee of Petitions and supported by the MEPs, it has been noted that there are petitions received by the Committee of Petitions from national minorities living in Europe in which they noted that they face discrimination in many issues. One of those applicants is us, Western Thrace Turks. As ABTTF we presented many petitions to the Committee of Petitions regarding the discrimination that Western Thrace Turks have confronted in the fields of education and religion. However, in responses we received it was stated that issue of national minorities is out of area of jurisdiction of the EU. Therefore, establishment of a mechanism which would protect the rights of national minorities in EU-wide is very significant. And this resolution is important in terms that it explicitly notes the lack of an EU-wide mechanism for the protection of national minorities. After the adoption of this resolution, we hope that issue of national minorities is addressed seriously in the EU and a mechanism is established for the monitoring of the situation of persons belonging to national minorities in the EU.”

You may access the draft resolution of the EP at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P8-TA-2018-0032&language=EN&ring=B8-2018-0064.