- Communiqués de presse
The Federal Union of European Nationalities and the representatives of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia have submitted over 68 thousand statements of support for the Minority SafePack Initiative to the national authorities in Slovakia on Thursday. „ The Hungarian community in Slovakia is a strong community, and they have a strong voice that urges Brussels to put minority protection issues on the agenda. 1,25 million petition signed across Europe mean we have started an European movement, and that the EC must deal with this issue”, stated Loránt Vincze after having submitted the statements of support.
The president of the FUEN pointed out: this is the first time autochthonous national minorities in Europe have decided to act together, due to the fact that their Member States have addressed these issues in a disappointing manner. They have, at times, also been disappointed in the EU, as European institutions have claimed minority protection related matters are not within their framework. The citizen’s initiative is a grass root movement which urges the EU to put minority protection, legal certainty regarding minority rights and the fight against minority right infringement on the agenda. It aims for the creation of an EU level legislative framework to protect minority and language communities. „In the case of Slovakia our aim is to ensure that the rights the Hungarian community here has fought for cannot be taken away from them. We also believe the EU should encourage Member States to exchange good practices regarding minority rights”, he said.
Former President of the Party of the Hungarian Community in Slovakia (MKP) Berényi József added: the central problem their community faces is that Slovakian authorities are reluctant to implement existing minority and language rights, and they do not make it possible for the members of the community he represents to exercise their rights. EU legislation however is mandatory and not implementing it would entail sanctions. As an example he brought up the issue of the use of the mother tongue in public administration and the hardship caused by the fact that all Hungarian TV content has to be subtitled in Slovakian. Both of these problems would find solutions in the legislative framework resulting from the Minority SafePack Initiative. „68 600 statements of support is a great success. I am confident Europe will hear our voices and that as a result EU institutions will put minority protection on the agenda”, concluded the politican from MKP.
In the coming week statements of support are to be submitted to national authorities in Denmark, Italy and Hungary.
