BETA


2018/2036(INI) Minimum standards for minorities in the EU

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead LIBE NAGY József (icon: PPE PPE) POST Soraya (icon: S&D S&D), ŠKRIPEK Branislav (icon: ECR ECR), MLINAR Angelika (icon: ALDE ALDE), VALERO Bodil (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), VILIMSKY Harald (icon: ENF ENF)
Committee Opinion PETI
Committee Opinion CULT BOCSKOR Andrea (icon: PPE PPE) Liadh NÍ RIADA (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL), Liliana RODRIGUES (icon: S&D S&D)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2018/11/13
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2018/11/13
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 481 votes to 112, with 73 abstentions, a resolution on minimum standards for minorities in the European Union.

Background : approximately 8 % of EU citizens belong to a national minority and approximately 10 % speak a regional or minority language .

Article 2 of the TEU states that ‘the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the primacy of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities’.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union has made the notion of ‘national minorities’ a term of Union law.

One of the three Copenhagen criteria clearly requires countries to guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities; whereas there is no further monitoring of minority rights once a candidate country becomes a Member State.

Protecting minorities : Parliament underlined the need to protect all national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities , regardless of definition. It recommended that, with respect to the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and non-discrimination, a definition of a ‘national minority’ should be based on the definition laid down in Recommendation 1201 of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (1993) for an additional protocol on the rights of minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Parliament expressed its concern about the number of stateless Roma in Europe, a situation which leads to a total denial of their access to social, educational and healthcare services and pushes them to the margins of society. It called on Member States to abolish statelessness and ensure the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by all.

The need for common rules : recalling that there is no common EU standard for minority rights in the EU, nor a common understanding of who can be considered a person belonging to a minority, Members called on the Commission to draw up a common framework of EU minimum standards for the protection of minorities; recommends that this framework should contain measurable milestones with regular reporting, and should consist, as a minimum, of:

the drafting of guidelines reflecting good practices within the Member States, in cooperation with different stakeholders involved in minority rights protection; a Commission recommendation , taking into consideration existing national measures, subsidiarity and proportionality; a legislative proposal for a directive , to be drafted following a proper impact assessment, in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as applying in the Member States and based on the aforementioned points, on minimum standards for minorities in the EU, including clear benchmarks and sanctions.

Combating discrimination, hate crime and hate speech : condemning unequivocally all forms of discrimination and all forms of segregation, Parliament called on the Union and Member States to step up the fight against hate crimes and discriminatory attitudes and behaviour. It reaffirmed the position expressed by Parliament in its resolution of 25 October 2017 on the integration of the Roma into the Union from the point of view of fundamental rights. It encouraged the Commission and Member States to develop awareness-raising activities that sensitise the EU population to diversity, and to promote all peaceful forms of manifestation of minority cultures and to include the history of national and ethnic minorities and to promote a culture of tolerance in their schools as part of their curricula.

Minority rights : Parliament encouraged the Commission and the Member States to safeguard the right of persons belonging to minorities to preserve, protect and develop their own identity, and to take the necessary steps to promote the effective participation of minorities in social, economic and cultural life and in public affairs.

Parliament also called on them, inter alia , to:

ensure equal opportunities for national and ethnic minorities to participate in political and social life; involve and support national and ethnic minorities and persons belonging to them in fostering knowledge and skills which are necessary in order to safeguard and sustainably manage and develop cultural heritage and which should be handed down to future generations; promote the use of regional or minority languages at local and regional level and in the media and to ensure freedom of service, passage and reception of audiovisual content in regions where minorities live; ensure that, in line with international norms, persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities have their rights guaranteed and adequate opportunities ensured as regards receiving education in a minority language as well as instruction in their mother tongue, in both public and private educational institutions; allow and promote, in the context of administrative authorities and public service organisations , the use of regional or minority languages in practice, in line with the principle of proportionality, e.g. in relations between private individuals and organisations on the one hand, and public authorities on the other.

Parliament called on the Commission and Member States to continue to support and fund the collection of reliable and robust data on equality, in consultation with minority representatives, in order to measure inequality and discrimination. It called for effective EU-wide monitoring of the situation of national and ethnic minorities.

Documents
2018/11/13
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2018/11/12
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2018/10/24
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted an own-initiative report by József NAGY (EPP, SK) on minimum standards for minorities in the European Union.

Approximately 8 % of EU citizens belong to a national minority and approximately 10 % speak a regional or minority language .

Article 2 of the TEU states that ‘the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the primacy of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities’.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union has made the notion of ‘national minorities’ a term of Union law.

One of the three Copenhagen criteria clearly requires countries to guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities; whereas there is no further monitoring of minority rights once a candidate country becomes a Member State.

The need for common rules : recalling that there is no common EU standard for minority rights in the EU, nor a common understanding of who can be considered a person belonging to a minority, the report stressed the need to protect all national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities , regardless of definition. It recommended that, with respect to the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and non-discrimination, a definition of a ‘national minority’ should be based on the definition laid down by the European Convention on Human Rights. It also called on Member States to end the condition of statelessness of Roma and ensure the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by all.

Members called on the Commission to draw up a common framework of EU minimum standards for the protection of minorities; recommends that this framework should contain measurable milestones with regular reporting, and should consist, as a minimum, of:

the drafting of guidelines reflecting good practices within the Member States, in cooperation with different stakeholders involved in minority rights protection; a Commission recommendation , taking into consideration existing national measures, subsidiarity and proportionality; a legislative proposal for a directive , to be drafted following a proper impact assessment, in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as applying in the Member States and based on the aforementioned points, on minimum standards for minorities in the EU, including clear benchmarks and sanctions.

Combating discrimination, hate crime and hate speech : condemning unequivocally all forms of discrimination and all forms of segregation, Members called on the Union and Member States to step up the fight against hate crimes and discriminatory attitudes and behaviour. They reaffirmed the position expressed by Parliament in its resolution of 25 October 2017 on the integration of the Roma into the Union from the point of view of fundamental rights. They encouraged the Commission and Member States to develop awareness-raising activities that sensitise the EU population to diversity, and to promote all peaceful forms of manifestation of minority cultures and to include the history of national and ethnic minorities and to promote a culture of tolerance in their schools as part of their curricula.

The Commission and the Member States are called on, inter alia , to:

ensure equal opportunities for national and ethnic minorities to participate in political and social life; involve and support national and ethnic minorities and persons belonging to them in fostering knowledge and skills which are necessary in order to safeguard and sustainably manage and develop cultural heritage and which should be handed down to future generations; promote the use of regional or minority languages at local and regional level and in the media ; ensure that, in line with international norms, persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities have their rights guaranteed and adequate opportunities ensured as regards receiving education in a minority language as well as instruction in their mother tongue, in both public and private educational institutions; allow and promote, in the context of administrative authorities and public service organisations , the use of regional or minority languages in practice, in line with the principle of proportionality, e.g. in relations between private individuals and organisations on the one hand, and public authorities on the other.

The report called on the Commission and Member States to continue to support and fund the collection of reliable and robust data on equality, in consultation with minority representatives, in order to measure inequality and discrimination. It called for effective EU-wide monitoring of the situation of national and ethnic minorities.

Documents
2018/10/10
   EP - Vote in committee
2018/09/25
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2018/06/22
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2018/05/22
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2018/03/15
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2018/03/14
   EP - BOCSKOR Andrea (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in CULT
2018/01/24
   EP - NAGY József (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in LIBE

Documents

Activities

Votes

A8-0353/2018 - József Nagy - LIBE resolution 13/11/2018 12:36:27.000 #

2018/11/13 Outcome: +: 489, -: 112, 0: 73
DE ES IT RO SE HU PT NL CZ BE GB AT BG LT IE HR DK SI FI SK LU MT PL LV CY ?? FR EL EE
Total
92
50
62
28
19
17
19
24
20
19
63
18
14
10
9
11
12
8
10
11
6
6
45
6
4
1
64
20
4
icon: PPE PPE
193

United Kingdom PPE

For (1)

1

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Finland PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

3

Latvia PPE

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Cyprus PPE

Abstain (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
170

Netherlands S&D

3

Bulgaria S&D

Against (1)

3

Ireland S&D

For (1)

1

Croatia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Finland S&D

1

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Malta S&D

3

Latvia S&D

1

Cyprus S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
63
3

Romania ALDE

Abstain (1)

3

Portugal ALDE

1

Czechia ALDE

4

United Kingdom ALDE

1

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Ireland ALDE

For (1)

1

Croatia ALDE

2

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Latvia ALDE

1

Estonia ALDE

Against (2)

2
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
51

Italy Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Hungary Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Croatia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Slovenia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Estonia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
45

Italy GUE/NGL

2

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

For (1)

4

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

3

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

3

Denmark GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

1
icon: NI NI
19

Germany NI

Against (1)

2

Hungary NI

For (1)

1

United Kingdom NI

Against (1)

4

Denmark NI

1

NI

For (1)

1

France NI

2
icon: EFDD EFDD
39

Germany EFDD

Against (1)

1

Czechia EFDD

Against (1)

1

Lithuania EFDD

Abstain (1)

1

Poland EFDD

1
icon: ECR ECR
62

Italy ECR

2

Romania ECR

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Sweden ECR

2

Netherlands ECR

2

Czechia ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

1

Croatia ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Denmark ECR

2

Finland ECR

Against (1)

2

Slovakia ECR

2

Latvia ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Cyprus ECR

Against (1)

1

Greece ECR

Against (1)

1
icon: ENF ENF
30

Germany ENF

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands ENF

3

Belgium ENF

Against (1)

1

Poland ENF

2
AmendmentsDossier
477 2018/2036(INI)
2018/06/22 LIBE 340 amendments...
source: 623.807
2018/06/26 CULT 137 amendments...
source: 623.877

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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  • date: 2018-03-15T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
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One of the three Copenhagen criteria clearly requires countries to guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities; whereas there is no further monitoring of minority rights once a candidate country becomes a Member State. The need for common rules : recalling that there is no common EU standard for minority rights in the EU, nor a common understanding of who can be considered a person belonging to a minority, the report stressed the need to protect all national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities , regardless of definition. It recommended that, with respect to the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and non-discrimination, a definition of a ‘national minority’ should be based on the definition laid down by the European Convention on Human Rights. It also called on Member States to end the condition of statelessness of Roma and ensure the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by all. Members called on the Commission to draw up a common framework of EU minimum standards for the protection of minorities; recommends that this framework should contain measurable milestones with regular reporting, and should consist, as a minimum, of: the drafting of guidelines reflecting good practices within the Member States, in cooperation with different stakeholders involved in minority rights protection; a Commission recommendation , taking into consideration existing national measures, subsidiarity and proportionality; a legislative proposal for a directive , to be drafted following a proper impact assessment, in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as applying in the Member States and based on the aforementioned points, on minimum standards for minorities in the EU, including clear benchmarks and sanctions. Combating discrimination, hate crime and hate speech : condemning unequivocally all forms of discrimination and all forms of segregation, Members called on the Union and Member States to step up the fight against hate crimes and discriminatory attitudes and behaviour. They reaffirmed the position expressed by Parliament in its resolution of 25 October 2017 on the integration of the Roma into the Union from the point of view of fundamental rights. They encouraged the Commission and Member States to develop awareness-raising activities that sensitise the EU population to diversity, and to promote all peaceful forms of manifestation of minority cultures and to include the history of national and ethnic minorities and to promote a culture of tolerance in their schools as part of their curricula. The Commission and the Member States are called on, inter alia , to: ensure equal opportunities for national and ethnic minorities to participate in political and social life; involve and support national and ethnic minorities and persons belonging to them in fostering knowledge and skills which are necessary in order to safeguard and sustainably manage and develop cultural heritage and which should be handed down to future generations; promote the use of regional or minority languages at local and regional level and in the media ; ensure that, in line with international norms, persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities have their rights guaranteed and adequate opportunities ensured as regards receiving education in a minority language as well as instruction in their mother tongue, in both public and private educational institutions; allow and promote, in the context of administrative authorities and public service organisations , the use of regional or minority languages in practice, in line with the principle of proportionality, e.g. in relations between private individuals and organisations on the one hand, and public authorities on the other. The report called on the Commission and Member States to continue to support and fund the collection of reliable and robust data on equality, in consultation with minority representatives, in order to measure inequality and discrimination. It called for effective EU-wide monitoring of the situation of national and ethnic minorities.
  • date: 2018-11-12T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20181112&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2018-11-13T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2018-0447 title: T8-0447/2018 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 481 votes to 112, with 73 abstentions, a resolution on minimum standards for minorities in the European Union. Background : approximately 8 % of EU citizens belong to a national minority and approximately 10 % speak a regional or minority language . Article 2 of the TEU states that ‘the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the primacy of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities’. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union has made the notion of ‘national minorities’ a term of Union law. One of the three Copenhagen criteria clearly requires countries to guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities; whereas there is no further monitoring of minority rights once a candidate country becomes a Member State. Protecting minorities : Parliament underlined the need to protect all national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities , regardless of definition. It recommended that, with respect to the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and non-discrimination, a definition of a ‘national minority’ should be based on the definition laid down in Recommendation 1201 of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (1993) for an additional protocol on the rights of minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights. Parliament expressed its concern about the number of stateless Roma in Europe, a situation which leads to a total denial of their access to social, educational and healthcare services and pushes them to the margins of society. It called on Member States to abolish statelessness and ensure the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by all. The need for common rules : recalling that there is no common EU standard for minority rights in the EU, nor a common understanding of who can be considered a person belonging to a minority, Members called on the Commission to draw up a common framework of EU minimum standards for the protection of minorities; recommends that this framework should contain measurable milestones with regular reporting, and should consist, as a minimum, of: the drafting of guidelines reflecting good practices within the Member States, in cooperation with different stakeholders involved in minority rights protection; a Commission recommendation , taking into consideration existing national measures, subsidiarity and proportionality; a legislative proposal for a directive , to be drafted following a proper impact assessment, in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as applying in the Member States and based on the aforementioned points, on minimum standards for minorities in the EU, including clear benchmarks and sanctions. Combating discrimination, hate crime and hate speech : condemning unequivocally all forms of discrimination and all forms of segregation, Parliament called on the Union and Member States to step up the fight against hate crimes and discriminatory attitudes and behaviour. It reaffirmed the position expressed by Parliament in its resolution of 25 October 2017 on the integration of the Roma into the Union from the point of view of fundamental rights. It encouraged the Commission and Member States to develop awareness-raising activities that sensitise the EU population to diversity, and to promote all peaceful forms of manifestation of minority cultures and to include the history of national and ethnic minorities and to promote a culture of tolerance in their schools as part of their curricula. Minority rights : Parliament encouraged the Commission and the Member States to safeguard the right of persons belonging to minorities to preserve, protect and develop their own identity, and to take the necessary steps to promote the effective participation of minorities in social, economic and cultural life and in public affairs. Parliament also called on them, inter alia , to: ensure equal opportunities for national and ethnic minorities to participate in political and social life; involve and support national and ethnic minorities and persons belonging to them in fostering knowledge and skills which are necessary in order to safeguard and sustainably manage and develop cultural heritage and which should be handed down to future generations; promote the use of regional or minority languages at local and regional level and in the media and to ensure freedom of service, passage and reception of audiovisual content in regions where minorities live; ensure that, in line with international norms, persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities have their rights guaranteed and adequate opportunities ensured as regards receiving education in a minority language as well as instruction in their mother tongue, in both public and private educational institutions; allow and promote, in the context of administrative authorities and public service organisations , the use of regional or minority languages in practice, in line with the principle of proportionality, e.g. in relations between private individuals and organisations on the one hand, and public authorities on the other. Parliament called on the Commission and Member States to continue to support and fund the collection of reliable and robust data on equality, in consultation with minority representatives, in order to measure inequality and discrimination. It called for effective EU-wide monitoring of the situation of national and ethnic minorities.
  • date: 2018-11-13T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
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  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/migration-and-home-affairs_en title: Migration and Home Affairs commissioner: AVRAMOPOULOS Dimitris
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  • 4.10.08 Equal treatment of persons, non-discrimination
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  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Petitions committee: PETI
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group: EPP name: BOCSKOR Andrea
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  • group: EPP name: NAGY József
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  • group: S&D name: POST Soraya
  • group: ECR name: ŠKRIPEK Branislav
  • group: ALDE name: MLINAR Angelika
  • group: GUE/NGL name: ALBIOL GUZMÁN Marina
  • group: Verts/ALE name: VALERO Bodil
  • group: ENF name: VILIMSKY Harald
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4.10.08 Equal treatment between persons, non-discrimination
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4.10.08 Equal treatment of persons, non-discrimination
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2018-03-15T00:00:00
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    • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
    • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Petitions committee: PETI
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    • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/migration-and-home-affairs_en title: Migration and Home Affairs commissioner: AVRAMOPOULOS Dimitris
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    2018/2036(INI)
    title
    Minimum standards for minorities in the EU
    legal_basis
    Rules of Procedure EP 052
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    4.10.08 Equal treatment between persons, non-discrimination