“Minority rights must not be dependent on the political climate”

FUEN President Olivia Schubert addressed the General Assembly of the South Tyrolean Institute for Ethnic Groups (SVI) in Bolzano on Tuesday, 21 April 2026.

She hoped that the geopolitical environment would not deteriorate further and that no further crises would be added to the many already smouldering, said FUEN President Olivia Schubert in her address to the SVI Assembly, because in times of crisis politicians tended strongly to focus on minority issues from a security perspective, rather than as fundamental human rights issues. In such times, language rights are also often called into question in the name of national unity.

“We must find consistent responses to this,” said Schubert. She called on the European Commission to establish an institutional point of contact for Europe’s national minorities. Populist narratives must be countered with facts. As the EU is reluctant to address minority issues, Europe’s minorities must work more closely with the United Nations and the Council of Europe to create and strengthen legal protection mechanisms.

Schubert emphasised that the rejection of the Minority SafePack Initiative by the European Commission was not a defeat, but merely a setback. “The Commission’s decision cannot erase the network of solidarity we have built,” the FUEN President continued, assuring that the objectives and measures set out in the initiative would be pursued through other channels.

In this regard, FUEN is relying heavily on support from South Tyrol. FUEN has been able to count on this in the past, Schubert emphasised, pointing to the long line of South Tyrolean presidents and vice-presidents in FUEN’s history.

She specifically thanked Christoph Pan, the long-standing scientific director of the Ethnic Group Institute and SVI honorary chairman. For example, following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989/90, he contributed his extensive knowledge and wealth of experience to the establishment of the regional self-government of the Germans in Hungary.

At the meeting, the members elected the new Executive Committee of the South Tyrolean Institute for Ethnic Groups. Its members are Walter Cristofoletti, Roland Verra, Hugo-Daniel Stoffella, Georg Lezuo and Barbara Kemenater. The new Chairman will be appointed at the Executive Committee’s inaugural meeting.

The scientific director of the SVI, Paul Videsott, thanked the outgoing chairman, Iaco Rigo, who had stepped into the breach following the untimely death of Klaus Kemenater and taken the helm. Videsott also expressed his gratitude to the outgoing board members Georg Pardeller and Hans Egger, who, after many years of service, had decided not to stand for re-election due to their age.

The most important tasks in the SVI’s programme of activities include the publication of the academic journal “European Journal of Minority Issues” (EJM), the exchange of experiences, and research into ethnic group and autonomy issues.

Links:

https://www.svi-bz.org/it/home/

https://biblioscout.net/journal/ejm

Pictured:

The new SVI Executive Board with the FUEN President: (from left) Paul Videsott, Hugo-Daniel Stoffella, Barbara Kemenater, Roland Verra, Olivia Schubert, Walter Cristofoletti and Georg Lezuo.