Europe’s leading organisations in minority protection met in Brussels to discuss collaboration

At the invitation of the Federal Union of European Nationalities the most important European organisations for minority protection had a cooperation meeting in Brussels on 5 March 2019. The meeting in which eight organizations took part can be considered the biggest ever of its kind.

The leaders of FUEN, the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD), the European Language Equality Network (ELEN), the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), the Coppieters Foundation, the Tom Lantos Institute and the Minority Rights Group International (MRG) came together to enhance cooperation, present their projects and discuss common strategies in minority protection. They also presented their activities and event schedule for 2019 in order to avoid overlapping.

The FUEN project Minority Monitor, a platform for minority issues was presented and the participants agreed to contribute to the platform and to share their expertise and knowledge on different minority situations. The project Minority Women in Europe and the plans for a European Language Centre or Agency were also presented and supported.

„Our organizations have their own agenda and objectives, but also a lot of experience and extended networks. Our know-how put together can better serve our members and ultimately will strengthen each of us. The Minority SafePack initiative was a great experience of such a cooperation, it would be important to preserve it and make it stronger in the future” – stated Loránt Vincze, President of FUEN.

The organizations agreed to have common strategies for the new European Parliament legislature, especially regarding the Minority SafePack Initiative, the successful European Citizens’ Initiative asking for the protection and promotion of autochthonous national minorities and language groups in the EU, for which all participants agreed to lobby for.

Preparations for the UN Regional Forum on education in mother language, which will take place in Brussels in May 2019 were also discussed, and the Resolution of the European Parliament on minimum standards for minorities in the European Union voted on 13 November 2018 was also presented and greeted as an important step forward.