No minority representatives invited by the Romanian Government to celebrate the ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

The RMDSZ, representing the Hungarian minority in Romania, has officially protested in a letter sent to the President of the Venice Commission against a conference organised for the 20^th anniversary of Romania’s ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which took place on the 30^th April in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The event, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Romanian Government, was a showcase conference and the representatives of the national minorities in Romania were not invited to the event. RMDSZ President Kelemen Hunor considers this decision an offense against the national minority organisations; a profoundly antidemocratic act, which seriously questions the real commitment of the Romanian Government towards dialogue and cooperation with the national minorities.

Loránt Vincze, FUEN Vice President stated: “while the government uses the Framework Convention only for celebration, minorities know from their everyday experience of all the problems of applying the existing legislation and exercising the right to use their mother tongue. It is unacceptable that the minorities were not invited to a debate, which had as topic minority protection. The President of the Venice Commission assisted at this showcase event.

The letter sent to Gianni Buquicchio points out that it is not the state, which should declare if Romania is a role model for minority protection, but the minority organisations themselves should appreciate their own situation, and the attitude and actions of the Government. As the conference itself shows, there is an important lack of substance when it comes to dialogue and evaluation of the current situation.

The RMDSZ calls for attention of the Venice Commission for the most important cases of noncompliance in Romania. There are serious deficiencies in enforcing the existing legislation in education and the use of the community symbol. The right to use the mother tongue in court proceedings and in the public administrations is only partially applied. Furthermore, the Romanian state is constantly disregarding the recommendation of the Council of Europe and the EU to take into account the regions’ historical and linguistically characteristics. The claim for ethnic autonomy is considered a national security threat in the national safety strategy proposal of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. Romania fails to submit the report on the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages’ application since 2012. The restitution process of community and Church properties nationalised during the communist regime is halted.

The RMDSZ informed the Venice Commission that it only claims minority rights, which already exist in different EU Member States, These are European best practices that should be promoted in Romania. Reminding of its common project under the umbrella of the FUEN, the RMDSZ asks the EU to include in its treaties the protection of minorities and thus create an unambiguous competence for the EU. The Hungarian political representatives call for the creation of a set of legal acts aiming at the creation of a comprehensive and legally binding protection system and legislative framework for national minorities, which is to be complemented by a functioning monitoring mechanism.