Minorities of Europe need to have a clear, relatable message if we are to be understood

„An issue becomes known on an international level when Washington or Brussels pick it up. This was the case of the minorities in the former Yugoslavia during the war. Fortunately, we are not in that situation, but that doesn’t mean that the attention of the world is constantly, automatically drawn to us. It is thus more challenging to state our case and request action”, stated the president of the Federal Union of European Nationalities. Hungarians from Romania want to preserve their identity, and in order to do so they need a comprehensive legislative framework which guarantees a change, expressed Loránt Vincze. If the Romanian state does not wish to provide this, the need for a framework has to be clearly expressed to Europe.

Vincze explained: „The Minority SafePack initiative elaborated by the FUEN is aimed to grant European protection for the rights of minorities in the EU. There are about 50 million people belonging to a national minority or a minority language community in the Union, some of them are not even recognised by their states. This is one of Europe’s best kept secrets.” The president of the FUEN adduced South Tyrol, Italy, as an example, where members of the German speaking community mostly watch German or Austrian TV channels. During international football games however, the broadcast of these stations stop, and they cannot enjoy the match with comments in their mother tongue. According to Loránt Vincze, every European citizen has the right to enjoy culture and entertainment in their own language, and therefore it’s time to say goodbye to digital borders, it’s time for a unitary European copyright law. „A solution for this problem is offered in the Minority SafePack Initiative. Our initiative is a common issue of these people, a common denominator for minorities in Europe which could put an end to the stillstand of European minority laws”, concluded the president of the FUEN.

„We are Hungarians from Romania, Romanian citizens, citizens of the European Union, and members of the Hungarian cultural and ethnic community. Our goal is to preserve our mother tongue and our culture. We don’t want assimilation or emigration. Our identity is layered, and we make Europe richer”, stressed Member of the European Parliament, Iuliu Winkler.

„We need partners in achieving our goal, and therefore we have to address each community, individuals of Europe in their own language, we have to state our case with clear arguments”, added the MEP who told stories about what people in Europe know about the Hungarian community in Transylvania.