One final push needed for another European Citizens’ Initiative to benefit minorities

A European Citizens’ Initiative which aims to increase the ability of Europe’s national minorities to build their communities and preserve their culture is close to succeed. The initiative entitled “Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures” has already managed to collect more than the necessary one million signatures, and it has time until 7 November 2020 to reach the national threshold in at least seven Member States of the European Union. So far, it has reached the threshold in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Once an initiative reaches the required number of signatures from at least 7 EU countries, the European Commission will take action.

In the European Union, there are about 50 million people who belong to a national minority. Their lands are the national regions the civil organizers of the initiative stand for. This civil movement wants to help European minority nations to access EU funds directly. This would provide them with a level of financial freedom within the country they live in and would to contribute to the preservation of Europe’s ethnic diversity.

When a minority region depends on subsidies from a government, they are subject to their direct influence. Financial independence means more autonomy in internal decisions and on how they spend their money. The initiative also takes a stand against ethnic discrimination some countries may covertly employ and wants to help national minority regions to survive and to protect their ethnic, linguistic, and cultural characteristics, while also aid the European community in safeguarding its own diversity.

The initiative aims to create the possibility for native ethnic minorities of the EU for reaching out to Brussels regarding financial support and cohesion funding. This would mean the development of infrastructure, schools, and the local economy, helping to decrease of the rate of migration – therefore, it would help economically suffering national regions in maintaining their populations.

As the coordinator of the successful ECI Minority SafePack Initiative, FUEN believes these two initiatives are complementary and they empower each other. FUEN urges its member organisations, partners and supporters to sign the initiative for the equality of regions!

We must stand by one another to preserve the Europe we love!

Read more (https://www.signiteurope.com/) or sign the initiative here!