Quel est le site Web ?

https://www.facebook.com/125934977420371/

Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages

Page d'Accueil
France
Strasbourg
Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages

Informations de contact, plan et itinéraire, formulaire de contact, heures d'ouverture, services, évaluations, photos, vidéos et annonces de Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages, 1 Avenue du Président Robert Schuman, Strasbourg.

The European Parliament Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages acts to promote awareness of traditional national and linguistic minority issues in Europe. CONTACTS of the Co-Chairs of the Intergroup:

MEP Francois Alfonsi (Greens/EFA) - [email protected]
MEP Kinga GÁL (NI) - [email protected]
MEP Loránt Vincze (EPP) - [email protected]

19/09/2026

How can minority and regional languages be better supported?

Helsinki–Helsingfors, this year’s host city of the Congress, offered a powerful example: Finland’s Swedish-speaking minority.

FUEN President Olivia Schubert highlighted how the Swedish-speaking community in Finland is a shining example of minority protection working successfully in practice.

Linguistic rights, education in one’s own language and political participation are not abstract principles, but part of everyday life. Finland’s legal framework for its Swedish-speaking population is an important example of how states can facilitate and protect the use of minority languages.

Chair and former FUEN President Loránt Vincze informed Congress participants about new developments in the European Parliament, including geo-blocking and its implications for national and linguistic minorities, as well as wider challenges such as digitalisation and the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework. The discussion also brought together a range of perspectives, including those of former Intergroup member and former OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors.

With more than 100 member organisations from across Europe, the FUEN Congress is a valuable moment for exchange, (re)connection and strengthening cooperation for minority rights.

We look forward to continuing the dialogue and our cooperation with FUEN in the months ahead.

Photos FUEN and Intergroup

17/09/2026

A further step in the cooperation between the and the Council of Europe

At today’s Intergroup meeting, we welcomed Hallvard Gorseth, Director at the Council of Europe’s Directorate General of Human Rights and Democracy. The meeting followed our visit last year to the Council of Europe’s Secretariat dealing with the rights of national and linguistic minorities.

The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages are important safeguards. Promoting them in Parliament, supporting their implementation and encouraging further ratifications are in our common interest.

We discussed a number of concrete issues, including the challenges facing the Sámi in the context of climate change, the situation of women belonging to national minorities, and the Council of Europe’s country visits, which give minorities an opportunity to speak openly about their situation.

Enlargement policy was also on the agenda, with a particular focus on monitoring and minority-protection standards, including in war-affected Ukraine, where a new country report is expected after a long gap since 2017.

The Council of Europe’s recent studies on minority languages in the digital age and young people’s language use should also be presented in the respective European Parliament committees.

Finally, we discussed the rise of hate speech, which often targets national minorities. The Council of Europe is currently preparing a new convention aimed at preventing and combating hate speech.

Many thanks for today’s fruitful exchange and for the continued cooperation. It is important that the European Parliament and the Council of Europe maintain an active and substantive dialogue on minority rights.

13/09/2026

Back to plenary in Strasbourg

Next week, MEPs will convene for the first plenary session of the European Parliament after the summer break. On 16 September, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also present her State of the Union address.

Ahead of her speech, Members of the are calling on the Commission President to deliver real progress for Europe’s traditional national and linguistic minorities.

They deserve the support and protection needed to participate fully as equal citizens of the European Union — with their languages, cultures and identities respected and preserved.

Across Europe, minority and majority communities alike are navigating profound changes, from climate and economic pressures to the rapid digitalisation of everyday life. These developments are increasingly shaping how younger generations use, learn, and pass on their mother tongues, while also influencing which languages are represented and supported in the digital world.

We look forward to concrete steps at EU level that can make a real difference for Europe’s linguistic and cultural diversity.

Will you be following the State of the Union address? Members of the will be there, listening closely and continuing to speak up for the rights of these communities.

Photo: European Parliament

16/06/2026

When great ideas meet innovative technology, meaningful progress follows.

members put European minority, regional and minoritised languages firmly on the digital agenda.

For the future of research, innovation and accessibility, it is essential that traditional and linguistic minorities are part of the conversation on how technology and AI can best serve multilingual regions where more than just official languages are spoken.
Representatives from civil society, academia, public institutions and the private sector came together to explore how innovation can strengthen minority language communities and support the use of minority languages in the digital age.
As Minority Intergroup Chair Vincze Loránt highlighted, we now have a real opportunity to make digital progress a lifeline for minority languages. Inclusive AI can support everyday language use, increase visibility, and help pass linguistic heritage on to future generations.
The digital future must be built with linguistic minorities, ensuring that technological progress reflects Europe's rich linguistic diversity and creates opportunities for all.
A special thank you to Microsoft and The Parliament Magazine for co-organising this important discussion and bringing together such a diverse group of stakeholders. Microsoft's LINGUA project is a strong example of how technology can help support linguistic diversity across Europe.

20/05/2026

The European Parliament calls on Slovakia to end land confiscations based on the Beneš Decrees.

Today represents an important step for national minorities. With the adoption of its resolution on Slovakia, the European Parliament has clearly taken a stand in support of national and linguistic minorities. It has called for the repeal of legal provisions that negatively affect minorities, including the Criminal Code amendment that criminalised questioning the post-war decrees applying the principle of collective guilt against Hungarian and German national minorities, as well as legislation enabling the confiscation of land and forests.

For a long time, governments claimed that land confiscations based on the decrees were an internal issue. However, the European Parliament has now shed light on these breaches of fundamental rights and the rule of law. Now is the time to act and resolve issues affecting several EU citizens, not only in Slovakia but in other countries as well.

Thanks to the longstanding commitment of the Members of the , this issue has been followed from the very beginning. Experts, investigative journalists, and civil society have also played an important role in bringing facts and evidence to the attention of EU institutions.

Photo: European Parliament

19/05/2026

Commissioner Hadja Lahbib engages with Members of the Minority Intergroup on the situation of traditional minorities

Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is clear in prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of language and membership of a national minority. In this context, Commissioner Hadja Lahbib underlined during an exchange with Members of the that linguistic diversity should be better protected and promoted in the European Union.
Following previous discussions with Glenn Micallef last autumn and with Michael McGrath in March, Members of the Intergroup welcomed the Commissioner responsible for Equality, whose portfolio also covers the protection of minorities.
The Minority Intergroup continues its work in support of the rights of traditional national and linguistic minorities in Europe. In the period following the , the needs and expectations of minorities have not changed. Citizens belonging to minorities wish to live, work and learn in their mother tongue, to access audiovisual content in their language, to receive communications in their language—including in emergency situations—and to benefit from equal access to EU funding opportunities, just as other citizens do.
While EU competences are defined by the Treaties, Article 2 TEU clearly identifies the protection of minorities as one of the European Union’s fundamental values.
“Égalité” lies at the very heart of our European project. This principle must be genuinely upheld throughout our societies, ensuring that no one is excluded or discriminated against. Europe must continue to move forward in supporting traditional national and linguistic minorities, as it has already done in many other fields.
Merci Madame la Commissaire pour votre présence et cet échange constructif.

11/05/2026

We all shout ‘Goooal!’—but what language is the rest of the match in?

Geo-blocking was the topic of discussions in Brussels within the .

Across Europe, access to online streaming services is still restricted, disproportionately affecting linguistic minorities—especially in border regions.

Take sports broadcasting as an example: the same match can often be followed in one language on one side of a border, but not on the other. While the European single market is based on the free movement of services, this is not fully realised in audiovisual content, largely due to territorial licensing systems.

Territorial licensing helps protect Europe’s cultural industries and film production, but it also creates frustration: content exists, yet it is not accessible in users’ own language.

This is why a targeted exemption should be introduced for traditional national and linguistic minority communities when accessing audiovisual content, including TV programmes and online streaming services.

We discussed this issue with the European Commission. With the upcoming revision of the geo-blocking regulation, there is now a real opportunity to bring this forward and turn it into practical, workable solutions.

Encouraging examples already exist: the German-speaking community in Belgium and the South Tyrolean community have developed partial solutions, offering useful inspiration for a broader European approach.

Different minority situations require different responses—but within the EU framework, our shared goal is clear: to move from discussion to delivery and ensure real, effective solutions.

The match has started. Now we need to play it together.

05/05/2026

Time to Integrate Minority Protection into Rule of Law Monitoring

In its report on the Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law Report, adopted last week in Strasbourg, the European Parliament raises concerns that minority rights are increasingly being overlooked across the EU. The rule of law is not complete without proper monitoring of the rights of traditional national and linguistic minorities.
Members of the European Parliament are calling for stronger safeguards against discrimination in Member States, as well as concrete EU-level measures to protect minority and language rights. They also reiterate the need to include minority protection in the Commission’s annual rule of law monitoring exercise and call for EU accession to key Council of Europe conventions.
The report highlights an important gap. While candidate countries must meet strict minority protection criteria under the Copenhagen accession framework, there are no equivalent guarantees ensuring that Member States continue to uphold these commitments after joining the EU.

The has consistently stressed the importance of data-driven monitoring in this area, in line with Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, which recognises the protection of minorities as a core EU value.

Photo: europarl.europa.eu

30/04/2026

National and linguistic minorities are Europe’s diversity

The EU motto “United in diversity” was clearly reflected at the April meeting of the , where representatives of traditional national and linguistic minorities demonstrated how diverse communities can work together and stand up for shared goals.

The largest umbrella organisation of minority groups, FUEN - Federal Union of European Nationalities presented its flagship programmes. These include the Minority Monitor, which reports on discrimination, language rights, hate speech and hate crimes affecting minorities across Europe, and Minority Women, a project that raises awareness of the challenges faced by minority women while highlighting role models and best practices in leadership, entrepreneurship, politics and academia. Given the wide range of legal statuses and challenges faced by different communities, such monitoring tools are essential to document rights violations and ensure visibility. At the same time, empowering minority women remains key, as they are still underrepresented in many sectors. FUEN’s work aims to bring their voices and achievements into focus.

EU enlargement offers an important framework and incentive for strengthening minority rights; however, progress is not driven by the process alone. It also reflects the sustained efforts and achievements of minority communities themselves. Positive examples can be seen in Kosovo and North Macedonia, where Turkish minority communities have made significant advances. In Kosovo, Turkish representatives actively participate in political and public life, and their language is used in parliament. In North Macedonia, Turkish-language education is available from preschool to university level. These developments illustrate both supportive frameworks and strong community agency. These communities are vital contributors to their societies and strong supporters of European integration.

Just as FUEN plays a crucial role in representing autochthonous minorities at the European level, local and regional representatives of these communities are essential for building trust, promoting inclusion and advancing minority rights protection.

It remains for the European Union to fully live up to its motto—ensuring that the rights and concerns of traditional national and linguistic minorities remain a priority, both during the enlargement process and after countries become Member States.

23/04/2026

Improving the lives of Roma and other minority communities is a shared European interest—and a responsibility that goes far beyond national borders or the enlargement process. It must be part of our everyday reality, before and after accession, and embedded in the life of our European Union.

Said Chair Vincze Loránt while hosting an enlargement event during the Roma Week in the EP.

The European Parliament and the remain committed to supporting Roma communities—not just symbolically, but through sustained action. While progress has been made, the situation is still not improving fast enough. Minority protection is not optional; it is a core element of EU values and accession.

We must confront hate speech, discrimination, and anti-Roma attitudes, while ensuring access to quality education, including in minority languages. The tools and funding exist—what we need now is full implementation, stronger enforcement, and real inclusion.

Roma communities remain among the most marginalized. Investing in education, empowering youth, and strengthening anti-discrimination policies must be a shared responsibility - in Member States and candidate countries alike.

Minorities should not be seen as occasional or folkloric elements, but as an integral part of our cultural heritage and of our society.

Adresse

1 Avenue Du Président Robert Schuman
Strasbourg
67000

Site Web

facebook.com

Notifications

Soyez le premier à savoir et laissez-nous vous envoyer un courriel lorsque Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages publie des nouvelles et des promotions. Votre adresse e-mail ne sera pas utilisée à d'autres fins, et vous pouvez vous désabonner à tout moment.

Vous voulez que votre école soit école la plus cotée à Strasbourg ?