Activities of Csaba SÓGOR related to 2018/2036(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Minimum standards for minorities in the EU (short presentation) HU
Minimum standards for minorities in the EU (short presentation) HU
Amendments (52)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
– having regard to the Copenhagen criteria, and the body of Union rules that a candidate country must fulfil if it wishes to join the Union (the acquis),
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
– having regard to the Council of Europe’s Congress of local and regional Authorities Resolution 424 (2017) - Regional and minority languages in Europe today,
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 7 February 2018 on protection and non- discrimination with regard to minorities in the EU Member States (2017/2937(RSP)),
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11
Citation 11
– having regard to its annual resolution of 13 December 2016s on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union1, _________________ 1 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0485.,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)
Citation 13 a (new)
– having regards to its report of 30 November 2017on the EU Citizenship Report 2017: Strengthening Citizens’ Rights in a Union of Democratic Change (2017/2069(INI)),
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 b (new)
Citation 13 b (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2016 with recommendations to the Commission on the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (2015/2254(INL)),
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14
Citation 14
– having regard to the decision and case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, in particular case T- 646/13 - Minority SafePack - one million signatures for diversity in Europe v Commission,
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the essence of protecting minority rights is protecting the right to identity in face of the threat of assimilation; whereas autochthonous national minorities developed their national identities and institutions for centuries while living on the same territory; whereas the right to identity bears both an individual and collective rights aspect with benefits to both the individual and to the community;
Amendment 48 #
C. whereas the Treaty of Lisbon introduced the term ‘persons belonging to minorities’ into EU primary law, the first- ever explicit reference in the history of the EU law; whereas Article 2 of the Treaty makes it clear that ‘respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities’ is a value on which ‘the Union is founded’; whereas Article 2 of the Treaty affirms that this value is ‘common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non- discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail’; whereas the new EU Treaties, following the approach of international law in this respect, do not defse rights deserve to be accorded the same treatment as the other rights enshrined ine the term ‘minoriTreaties’;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas by becoming legally binding, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU has laid down the principle of non-discrimination; whereas the values of the European Union are common to the Member Statesuropean Union made the notion ‘national minorities’ a term of EU law; whereas Article 21 of the Charter explicitly underlines that discrimination on grounds such as ethnicity, language, religion or the like is prohibited; whereas Article 22 emphasizes that “The Union shall respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity”;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the right to equal treatment is one of the founding principles of the European Union; whereas equal treatment is a basic right, not a privilege, of all citizens; whereas, when laying down the citizenship of the Union, article 9 of the TEU expressly mentions that the Union shall observe the principle of equality of its citizens, who shall receive equal attention from its institutions, bodies, offices and agencies;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the Copenhagen criteria are part of the EU accession criteria; whereas one of the threeone of the three Copenhagen accession criteria clearly requires countries to ensure democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for, and protection of, minorities; whereas the Copenhagen criteria are only enforceable in a pre-accession phase; whereas there is no further monitoring of minority rights once a candidate country becomes a member states; whereas the EU is still lacking common EU standards for minority protection for EU Member States and is still unable to protect EU citizens from the effects breaches of the Copenhagen criteria would entail;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas experience shows that, pre-accession countries are more willing to respect the Copenhagen criteria on democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights and to advance the situation of minorities; whereas, as a consequence of the lack of an adequate framework to guarantee the fulfilment of these criteria after accession, serious backsliding is experienced in many member states following EU membership; whereas Member States have even backtracked on commitments undertaken in the accession negotiations without impunity and without being held to any account by the EU institutions;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas recent developments have shown thatstrong legal instruments and processes to ensure the full and correct application of the principles and values of the Treaties – of whichat Treaty principles and values are upheld throughout the Union need to be developed; whereas the respect for rights of persons belonging to minorities is a constitufundamental part – need to be revised and integrated, and that an effective mechanism to close remaining gaps, and to ensure that Treaty principles and values are upheld throughout the Union, should be developed; whereas this mechanismof these values; whereas such instruments should close remaining gaps in minority protection, should be evidence-based, objective, non- discriminatory, respecting the principles of subsidiarity, necessity and proportionality, applying to both Member States and institutions of the Union, and based on a graduated approach, including both a preventative and corrective arm;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas linguistic diversity is an important part of a region’s cultural wealth; whereas the decline of minority languages is perceptible across Europe; whereas languages that are spoken by small communities and have no official status, are even more exposed to the risk of extinction;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas there are very high discrepancies across member states in the recognition of such minorities and the respect of their rights; whereas so far the EU has not been able to sanction or prevent discriminative practices having a negative impact on the languages and cultures of persons belonging to national minorities; whereas such minorities across the EU still face institutionalized discrimination and encounter obstacles in the enforcement of their basic rights, such as the right to use their own language and to have access to justice, public services, education, health and social services, as reflected in various monitoring reports;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas there is a difference between the protection of minorities and anti-discrimination policies; whereas non- discrimination is not enough to stop assimilation; whereas effective equality goes further than refraining from discrimination and means guaranteeing minorities the enjoyment of their rights, such as the right to identity, language use and education on par with the majority;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Confirms that national minority communities represent a special contribution to European diversity and culture; reminds that preserving and promoting cultural and linguistic diversity within and between Member States is a fundamental value and at the same time a major task of the European Union; recalls its calls from previous reports and resolutions, particularly from the most recent resolution of 7 February 2018 on the protection and non-discrimination with regard to minorities in the EU Member States, for more consistency in the field of minority protection in the EU; believes that all Member States as well as candidate countries should be bound by the same principles and obligations; stresses the need for a comprehensive European Union protection system for national minorities, accompanied by a robust monitoring mechanism;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Points out the inconsistency of the EU’s attitude toward minorities - while protection of minorities is a part of the Copenhagen criteria, there are still no common EU standards for minority rights in the EU and consequently there are no guarantees that candidate states stick to the commitments undertaken under the Copenhagen criteria once they became Member States; Finds it unacceptable that 60 years after its establishment, and almost ten years after the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU still lacks effective tools to monitor and enforce the respect of minority rights; Deeply regrets that in the field of minority protection the EU has either taken for granted the assumption that its Member States comply with minority rights or has relied on external monitoring instruments, such as those of the UN, CoE and OSCE, which present an uneven coverage regarding geography and scope as well as limitations regarding monitoring and follow-up;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 c (new)
Paragraph -1 c (new)
-1c. Emphasises that EU citizens belonging to minorities expect more to be done on a European level for the protection of their rights, as attested by the large number of petitions submitted to the European Parliament in this regard, as well as by the initiation of the ‘Minority Safepack’ European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) - One million signatures for diversity in Europe; welcomes the success of the ECI in gathering the support of over 1.3 million EU citizens in asking the EU to adopt a set of legal acts aimed at improving the protection of persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities and at strengthening cultural and linguistic diversity in the Union; Expresses its strong support for the initiative in the forthcoming stages of the ECI procedure;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – introductory part
Paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Recalls that while protection of minorities is a part of the Copenhagen criteria, both for the candidate countries and for the Member States, there is no guarantee that candidate states stick to the commitmentsthere is no common understaken under the Copenhagen criteria once they became Member States; recalls that there is no standard for minority rights in Union policy nor a common understandingnding in the Union of who can be considered a member of a minority; notes that there is no definition of minorities in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, nor in the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM); recommends that, with respect to the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and non-discriminationnational minorities, such a definition should be based on the definition, laid down in Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1201(1993) for an additional protocol on the rights of minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights, of a ‘national minority’ as a group of persons in a state who
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Highlights that the FCNM and the Language Charter are major achievements of the international minority protection system and important international standard-setting tools for States-Parties; points out, however, that beside the fact that not all EU Member States signed the FCNM and the Language Charter, the effect of the agreements is weakened by a slow ratification process, the reservations made by the Parties and, not least, by a lack of scrutiny powers, which makes them dependent on the good will of states; whereas systematic non-implementation of judgements, decisions and recommendations also leads to a normalisation of non-compliance with the two international instruments;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Expresses that there is a need for a legislative proposal on minimum standards of protection of minorities in the EU, for improving tIs firmly convinced that in order for the fundamental rights and freedoms of persons belonging to minorities are respected to an equal degree across all the EU it is essential for the EU to lay down a comprehe nsituative common ofEU minorities in all the Member States and to avoid double standards, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality, and after carrying out a proper impact assessment; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that their legal systems guarantee that persons belonging to a minority are not discriminated against, and to take and implement targeted protection measures based on relevant international standardsy protection system with its own high standards; considers that such standards should start from those already codified in international law instruments and that such standards should be strongly embedded in a legal framework guaranteeing democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights across the EU and accompanied by a functioning monitoring mechanism; considers that the development of these standards should be accompanied by a granting a comprehensive role to the Court of Justice of the European Union in ensuring the compliance of member States with EU- relevant legal standards on minority protection;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls onUrges the Member States, while safeguarding the national citizenship, and calls on the Commission, while promoting the European identity and common values, and the European Commission to safeguard the right of national minorities to preserve, protect and develop their own identity, and to take the necessary steps to ensure the effective participation of national minorities in social, economic and cultural life and in public affairs;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. NotHighlights that non-discrimination policies alone do not solve the issues minorities are faced with and do not stop assimilation; Stresses that persons belonging to minorities are in a special category with regard to the right to remedies and have specific needs that must be met if they are to achieve full and effective equality, and that their rights should be respected and promoted, including the right to freely express, preserve and develop their cultural or linguistic identity, free from any attempt at assimilation against their will;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to collect reliable and comparable equality data in consultation with minority representatives in order to measure inequalities and discrimination; calls for effective EU-wide monitoring of the situation of autochthonous national minorities; considers that the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights should carry out enhanced monitoring of discrimination against national minorities in Member States;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that autochthonous national minorities are groups of persons belonging to minorities who have been living on the same territory and sharing a common identity, in some instances as a result of border changes, in others as a result of living a long time in an area, whereby they have managed to preserve their identity; calls on the Member States and the Commission to protect the cultural and linguistic identity of national minorities, and to create conditions for the promotion of that identity; points to the important role that regional and local authorities in the EU can play in protecting national minorities, and considers that administrative reorganisation and territorial districting must not have negative consequences for them;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. NotStresses that persons belonging to autochthonous national minorities should have the right to exercise fully and effectively their human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination and in full equality before the law; calls on the Member States and the Commission to protect the cultural and linguistic identity of national minorities, to create conditions for the preservation promotion of that identity, including among others by ensuring effective participation of autochthonous national minorities in social, economic and cultural life and in public affairs; encourages Member States to formulate and effectively implement comprehensive national strategies and adopt framework laws on the protection of national minorities, using proven best practices; urges Member states to refrain from adopting laws or administrative measures that intentionally or unintentionally have the effect of assimilating minorities against their will, encourage emigration or change the ethnic structure in a specific region;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on Member States to refrain from any administrative reorganisation and territorial arrangements that have negative consequences on national minorities; stresses that territorial arrangements can also contribute to effectively protecting minority rights with a collective dimension and avoiding assimilation; considers that autonomous regions are a source of inspiration for conflict resolution in Europe; points out that the special status enjoyed by regions of some European States deepen the democratic process and lead to more prosperity and stability to those regions and their states; encourages Member States to consider with openness the benefits of both territorial or non- territorial functional forms of autonomy;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Points to the important role that regional and local authorities in the EU can play in protecting autochthonous national minorities; considers that effective participation in decision-making, based on the principles of subsidiarity and self-governance, is one of the most effective ways of handling the problems of national minorities; encourages Member States to give local communities more decision-making powers in as many policy areas as possible, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, to allocate adequate financial resources to enable local communities to get closer to the state institutions and to gain real influence over decisions affecting their lives; encourages Member States to provide financial resources for the implementation of minority rights from the central budget, so as not to burden local budgets;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Calls on Member States to adopt electoral systems and laws facilitating the representation of autochthonous national minorities;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. NStresses that cultural activities are essential areas for preserving the identity of national minorities; he preservation of the traditions of minorities, the expression of artistic values in the mother tongue are particularly important when it comes to preserving European diversity; notes that maintaining the cultural heritage of the EUminorities is a common interest of the Member States and the EU; calls on the EU institutions and its Member States to support, enhance and promote the cultural rights of national minorities;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to involve and support national minorities and their representatives in fostering knowledge and skills that are necessary in order to safeguard, sustainably manage and develop cultural heritage and that should be handed down to future generations; calls on the Member States and the Commission to establish and maintain concrete cultural funds for the representatives of regional and minority rights, both at horizontal and vertical levels in order to ensure effective, transparent and equal support for the cultural life of minority communities;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Highlights the fact that media plays a central role with regard to cultural and linguistic rights; recalls that being able to receive and publish information in a language one can fully understand and communicate in is a precondition for equal and effective participation in public, economic, social and cultural life; notes in this regard that special attention must be given to the needs of persons belonging to national minorities living in rural and remote areas; expresses concern over the underfunding of media outlets that publish or broadcast in regional or minority languages; Calls on Member States to provide appropriate funding to organisations or media outlets representing minorities in order to contribute to the preservation of minorities; cultural identities, as well as to share their views, language and culture with the majority;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. NoteRecalls that education is has a key element ofrole in the socialiszation and, identity development, and cultural reproduction of minorities; stresses that the continuity of mother tongue education is vital to preserving their cultural and linguistic identity; notescalls on member States to ensure that, when it comes tore there is a need it is possible to study in a minority language efor the entire ducration, there is no one singl of schooling from preschool and primary school through secondary education to vocational and higher education; notes that, when it comes to minority language education, there are best- practice models that is suitable for all national minorities; can be followed, such as that from Alto Adige/Südtirol, where each linguistic minority has its own educational system in their own language or that from Finland;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to promote and support the official use of languages spoken by national minorities in the territories where they live, at local or regional level, in conformity with the principles of the FCNM and the Language Charter, while taking into account that the protection and encouragement of the use of regional and minority languages should not be to the detriment of official languages and the obligation to learn them;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Expresses its regret that some Member States have not yet ratified the Language Charter and that even some that ratified it do not implement it effectively; is disappointed by the fact that in some member States existing rights are either not implemented or are outright flouted;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to ensure that persons belonging to national minorities have rights and adequate opportunities to receive education in a minority language and for instruction in their mother tongue in both public and private educational institutions; calls on the Member States to formulate appropriate education policies, bearing in mind the right for education in a minority language and the needs of national minorities; calls on the Members States and the Commissionencourages Members States to put in place education policies that are most suitable for the needs of national minorities, including through specific educational systems or through special curricula and textbooks and to incorporate the best practices in teaching foreign languages into the methodology of teaching official languages when it comes to curricula for schools which provide education in a minority language; notcalls on the Commission to issue recommendations and facilitate the sharing of best practices in this regard; stresses that the Member States should ensure that both the regional or minority language and the official language are taught using appropriate methods;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Emphasises the importance of higher education in mother tongue and of the formation of specialists with knowledge of specialised terminology, especially in regions with a large number of speakers of the language concerned; highlights the critical need to instruct doctors in minority languages, considering the need to interact with minority patients; strongly condemns the obstructions in place in some Member States in this regard;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Member States to define preferential thresholds in the learning of regional or minority languages and to apply them with flexibility in light of the interests of the community; calls on the Member States and the Commission to ensure that people belonging to national minorities living in rural areas, or living in widely scattered settlements, have the right to receive education in a minority language, e.g. in their mother tongue and ; calls on the Member States and the Commission to ensure that education reforms and policies do not restrict the right to receive education in a minority language;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Underlines that teaching the language of minorities contributes to the mutual understanding between the majority and minority and brings the communities closer together; therefore in regions with a large number of minorities, the teaching of minority languages should be made possible in the majority language schools for students who wish to study the language;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Notes that language is an essential aspect of cultural identity and the human rights of minorities; calls on the Member States to take into consideration this rights perspective, to ensure the right to use a minority language in private as in public places without any discrimination, to ensure that language can be passed on from one generation to the next and to protect linguistic diversity within the Union; calls on the Commission to strengthen its plan to promote the teaching and use of regional languages as a potential means of tackling language discrimination in the EU, and to promote linguistic diversity;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls the Member States and the Commission to allow and promote, with regard to the administrative authorities and public service organisations, the use of regional or minority languages in practice, according to the principle of proportionality, such as in relations between private individuals and organisations on the one hand, and public authorities on the other; calls on the Member States to make information and public services available in these languages, including on the internet, in areas where people belonging to national minorities are traditionally present; encourages municipal authorities to ensure the use of regional and minority languages; encourages the Member States to use the good practices already existing within the Member States as guidelines; encourages Member States that, wherever possible, to raise minority languages to the status of second official language in the localities where such languages are traditionally used;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. CUrges the Member States to end linguistically discriminatory practices; calls on the Member States to take action to prevent administrative and financial obstacles that could delay linguistic diversity at European and national level and impede the usage and application of linguistic rights of persons belonging to national minoritiesimpinge upon the linguistic rights of persons belonging to national minorities and hamper linguistic diversity at national and European level;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Strongly believes that the EU should be a true trendsetter in matters of minority rights in the world; believes that by building a legally binding common protection framework would not only solve the Copenhagen dilemma but would also strengthen its credibility vis-à-vis third countries when acting in matters of human rights violation across the globe; Believes that this would be of great importance in regards to the prospect of the EU’s Western-Balkan enlargement and its neighbourhood policy.
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 – introductory part
Paragraph 30 – introductory part
30. Calls on the Commission to draw up a roadmap towards establishing minimum standards for the protection of minorities; recommends that this roadmap should contacomprehensive common EU minority protection legal framework with its own high standards and with a robust monitoring measurable milestones with regular reporting, and should consist, as a minimum ofchanism by incorporating existing international law instruments and following proven best practices in the EU; calls on the Commission to draw up a roadmap towards establishing this system;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 – indent 1
Paragraph 30 – indent 1
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 – indent 2
Paragraph 30 – indent 2
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 – indent 3
Paragraph 30 – indent 3
Amendment 337 #
30a. Calls on the Commission to establish an EU Commissioner responsible for minority communities and languages in the EU;