A Hungarian organization in Ukraine has sent its opinion about the language laws to the Venice Commission.Continue reading
Barna Pál Zsigmond, MP for the governing Fidesz party, wrote a letter to Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, drawing her attention to the increasing deprivation of rights of Hungarians in Ukraine.
In his letter of March 8, the MP, who is a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, called it unacceptable that Ukraine has systematically denied fundamental rights of national minorities, such as the right to use their mother tongue and the right to education in their mother tongue, since 2014.
He stressed that the Ukrainians had drafted the new law on minorities without consulting the representatives of national communities, which in no way complied with European values and completely undermined the rights of national minorities.
Barna Pál Zsigmond called on the Council of Europe to take all possible steps to ensure that minorities in Ukraine do not suffer any further disadvantages.
In a reply sent on April 5, Marija Pejčinović Burić wrote that the Council of Europe is closely monitoring Ukraine’s legislative amendments to ensure that they comply with European standards in the field of protection of national minorities and support for minority languages, and expressed hope that Ukraine will act in accordance with the Venice Commission’s expected guidance on the issue in June.
Featured photo Facebook/Zsigmond Barna Pál