The regional government of the province of Fryslân issued a statement of support for the Minority SafePack Initiative

In a Statement of Support issued on 7 September 2021 the regional government of the Province of Fryslân expresses its support for the European Citizens' Initiative "Minority SafePack — one million signatures for diversity in Europe" and particularly welcomes the legal action brought by the MSPI Citizens' Committee against the European Commission in this regard.

The document points out that even though the European Commission has been called upon to take action for almost three decades, no legal measures have yet been adopted for the protection of national and linguistic minorities at EU level. It also notes that the European Parliament, in its resolution of 17 December 2020, endorsed the aims of the "Minority SafePack Initiative" and called on the European Commission to act on it and to propose legal acts. So did many national and regional parliaments in Europe, including the Dutch House of Representatives and the Provincial Parliament of Fryslân.

“The Province of Fryslân therefore notes with concern that the European Commission has refused in its Communication of 14 January 2021 to adopt any legislative proposals in response to the "Minority SafePack Initiative". The province stresses that when it comes to promoting linguistic diversity and protecting minorities, all levels of government — including the European Union – have to assume their responsibilities in a spirit of solidarity for this issue. Especially for the Province of Fryslân, which is responsible together with the Dutch Government for protecting and promoting the Frisian language and culture according to the Use of Frisian Act ("Wet gebruik Friese taal"), the implementation of the proposals focusing on language diversity are very relevant”, says the statement. It reiterates that the "Minority SafePack Initiative" aims at promoting cultural and linguistic diversity under different aspects which have, so far, not been addressed at EU-level.

The Province of Fryslân believes that “the assessment as now laid down in the Communication of the Commission does not do justice to the "Minority SafePack Initiative". We therefore kindly call on the Commission to reconsider its position and to adopt appropriate and more concrete measures to protect and strengthen minority rights and linguistic and cultural diversity in Europe. The European Union should finally assume its responsibility for the conservation of Europe's great cultural and linguistic heritage.”

The statement underlines that “regular celebration of our European language diversity is just one step, finally acting in favour of our languages is another step.”