FUEN establishes a European representative office in Brussel/Bruxelles

The Federal Union of European Nationalities will have a representative office of its own in Brussel/Bruxelles from October 2015. That is announced by the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) and the Land of Schleswig-Holstein.

“As a European interest organisation it is essential to be present at the European level with a permanent representation. We are glad and expect that it will strengthen our engagement with the European institutions and international organisations on a lasting basis.”, said FUEN President Hans Heinrich Hansen.

The Land of Schleswig-Holstein provides FUEN with the appropriate framework in the Hanse-Office, the Representation that it shares with of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg at the EU. It is made possible through the support from the Prime Minister of the Land of Schleswig-Holstein Torsten Albig, his Minority Commissioner Renate Schnack and Minister Anke Spoorendonk.

Prime Minister Albig underlined the important role of FUEN for European minority policy: “Schleswig-Holstein is not only the German Land with four minorities, we are also a reliable partner of the international minority organisations. Therefore I am glad that in the future FUEN will operate on the European level from our Hanse Office. Minorities are regularly affected by war and displacement in our European neighbourhood; look at the Roma in the Balkans or the minorities in Ukraine. FUEN has the expertise to have a positive influence on current conflicts in and around Europe. That is why FUEN needs a strong foothold in Brussel/Bruxelles.” 

The representative office in Brussel/Bruxelles will be established until the end of the year by Frank de Boer, legal and policy advisor of FUEN. De Boer, who belongs to the Frisian minority in the Netherlands, had a leading role in the elaboration of the Minority SafePack – the European Citizens’ Initiative for the autochthonous, national minorities. He is an expert in the field of minority protection and minority rights and together with the Presidium of FUEN, De Boer will represent FUEN on the European level and at the international organisations.

“After the Office of the House of Minorities in Flensburg and the FUEN office in Berlin were established already before, FUEN will then be active in three locations: Flensburg, Berlin, Brussel/Bruxelles. The official opening will follow until the end of the year”, said Susann Schenk, the Secretary-General of FUEN.

Photo FUEN: Under the leadership of FUEN President Hans Heinrich Hansen and FUEN Secretary General Susann Schenk, FUEN has opened three new locations over the past 12 months, with the help of its partners and member organisations: the Office of the House of Minorities in Flensburg, the FUEN office in Berlin responsible for the coordination of the Working Group of the German Minorities and the FUEN representative office in Brussel/Bruxelles.

Way of writing Brussel/Bruxelles: FUEN has decided to use the combination Flemish/French (Brussels = English, Brüssel = German).