FUEN Urges UN Special Rapporteur to Advocate for a Coherent EU Minority Protection Framework

On Tuesday, January 20, 2026, a delegation from the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) met with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Nicolas Levrat, in Brussels to discuss the critical lack of unified protection standards for national minorities within the European Union. FUEN President Olivia Schubert and European Dialogue Forum (EDF) Speaker Jens A. Christiansen briefed the Special Rapporteur on the organization's mandate, representing over 120 member organizations across 38 countries. FUEN’s most important projects and advocacy work was presented.

The meeting took place during Professor Levrat’s assessment visit to EU institutions, aimed at evaluating the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Minorities. The discussion focused on strategic pillars essential to the future of minority rights in Europe.

Following the final dismissal of the Minority SafePack Initiative (MSPI) by the European Court of Justice in 2025, FUEN emphasized that legal instruments for elevating minority rights to the EU policy level have been exhausted. FUEN noted that in the absence of a legal framework for their protection, the rights of national minorities have regressed over the past decade, with many communities facing cultural assimilation. FUEN is working on developing a new strategy to advocate for a coherent European policy on national minorities.

FUEN raised the issue of geoblocking as a form of discrimination that prevents linguistic minorities from accessing audiovisual content in their own languages from neighboring countries. The delegation highlighted the Geoblocking Declaration – signed at the FUEN Congress by FUEN, South Tyrol, and the German-speaking community of Belgium, with more regions expected to join – which calls for the omission of these barriers.

A primary concern raised was the "policy gap" and the lack of a designated interlocutor for national minorities within the European Commission. While cooperation exists with DG Education and Culture on multilingualism, most departments treat minority issues in an ad hoc or exclusionary manner. FUEN calls for the appointment of a designated EU Commissioner for Minority Issues or the establishment of an inter-departmental coordination mechanism.

In the absence of EU minority protection standards, FUEN advocates for permanent coordination between the EU and international partners such as the UN and the Council of Europe in this field. The delegation pointed out that stronger cooperation is necessary to approximate protection standards across the continent. FUEN proposed the creation of an inter-institutional working group under the coordination of the UN Special Rapporteur to promote best practices and find solutions to challenging minority issues.

The delegation highlighted the good dialogue and constructive cooperation FUEN has with other partners working on minority issues in Brussels, especially other civil society organizations, Brussels offices of some minority regions, the Minority Intergroup and the Committee of the European Regions.

Professor Levrat thanked the delegation for the insights, noting that the information received would be integrated into his post-visit recommendations to the EU. He expressed his intention to develop constructive recommendations to address the realities on the ground. The Special Rapporteur is expected to present his final report to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2027.