European Elections 2014
31.05.2014According to estimations by the European Commission there are forty million people - out of around 505 million – who are part of a national minority or who are speaking a regional or minority language; that is approximately 8 percent of the population.
Accordingly there “should be” about 60 MEPs out of the total number of 751 representatives who speak a regional or minority language or who belong to a national minority / ethnic group.
Some years ago the members of FUEN founded a “European Dialogue Forum” in order to work together with the European Parliament. In terms of substance the European citizens’ initiative – Minority SafePack Initiative – plays a determining role. The political demands of the FUEN members have also been laid down in programmatic declaration and were summarised into its key points with the “Minority Manifesto” that was adopted at the 2014 Congress.
Apart from being a strong civil society movement, FUEN is also becoming more and more a political alliance, with members who run for the European elections.
Read here the election analysis by FUEN
The Presidium of FUEN together with President Hans Heinrich Hansen would like to congratulate all the elected MEPs and is looking forward to the cooperation in the upcoming years in the European Parliament.
COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE
- The Working Group of Hungarian Communities in FUEN held its meeting in Bratislava
- We mourn Gianclaudio Bressa
- Statement by the FUEN Presidium: Better protection for regional and minority languages in EU trademark law
- FUEN attended the Spring General Assembly of the Conference of International NGOs (CINGOs)
- FUEN presents Minority Monitor and Women of Minorities to the European Parliament
- We mourn the loss of Dr Ondrej Pöss
- “Minority rights must not be dependent on the political climate”
- FUEN Presidium presents priorities for autochthonous minorities at Bundestag Parliamentary Breakfast
- FUEN advocates stronger minority rights protections at PACE spring session in Strasbourg
- FUEN strengthens exchange with political stakeholders and minority organisations in the German-Danish border region