FUEN President asks the Secretary General of the Council of Europe for greater attention to the rights of autochthonous minorities

"I have asked the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to put minority rights back on the Council's agenda, to raise them to the top of the Council's priorities, as we felt that this issue has been neglected in recent years", FUEN President Loránt Vincze said after meeting Alain Berset on Tuesday afternoon.

On 1 April, the CoE Secretary General received in his office in Strasbourg the President of FUEN, a Member of the European Parliament, who explained that in the previous mandate he had initiated the creation of a joint parliamentary delegation between the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament on behalf of the European Parliament. "The Council of Europe's instruments for the protection of minorities, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, are the most important European instruments for the protection of minorities to date. In the field of minorities, which the European Union unfortunately neglects for the time being, PACE could bring a lot of experience to bear," said Loránt Vincze.

The meeting stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Union, especially in the field of minority rights. Loránt Vincze pointed out that the revision of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions would provide an opportunity to give greater emphasis to the protection of minorities. "The Council of Europe has always been at the forefront in the protection of minority rights and it would be important for the cooperation between the EU and the ET to make better use of this knowledge and experience," the FUEN President underlined. Secretary General Alain Berset confirmed that his priority is to develop a stable and effective cooperation with the European Union and that it is natural that minority rights should be a priority.

The FUEN President, who also chairs the Minority Intergroup in the European Parliament, proposed the creation of an intergroup on minorities in the PACE, which could help to give greater attention to minority issues. The EU accession process of Moldova, Ukraine and the Western Balkans was also discussed. Loránt Vincze stressed that the European integration of the region would contribute to political stability and economic development, and that the Council of Europe should continue to play a key role in preparing for this, and in ensuring democratic standards and minority rights.

Loránt Vincze presented the work of FUEN to the Secretary General, including the Minority SafePack Initiative, the Mute Hate Speech campaign, the Minorities in the Western Balkans project and the Forum of European Minority Regions. He informed Alain Berset that the umbrella organisation, together with international experts in the field of minority protection, is preparing a manifesto on the future, which will set out the plans and perspectives of autochthonous national minorities and language groups, and in this they are counting on the support and partnership of the Council of Europe.