Changes from resolution motion to adopted text

RemovedF. whereas approximately 8 % of EU citizens belong to a national minority, and approximately 10 % speak a regional or minority language; whereas they represent an essential part of the cultural wealth of the Union through their unique languages and cultures;

AddedF. whereas Article 22 of the Charter states that the Union shall respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity;

RemovedG. whereas the general concept of minorities in Europe is covered by a wide range of terms in legal and academic language; whereas, in order to bypass the difficulty of using the variety of terms used across Europe, the Council of Europe in its Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities, which still represents the highest international standard for minority protection in Europe, uses the term ‘national minority’;

AddedG. whereas respect for cultural diversity is enshrined in Article 167 TFEU;

RemovedH. whereas many national and linguistic minorities face an accelerating trend of assimilation and language loss, which can translate into diminished linguistic and cultural pluralism within the EU;

AddedH. whereas approximately 8 % of EU citizens belong to a national minority and approximately 10 % speak a regional or minority language; whereas they represent an essential element of the cultural wealth of the Union through their unique languages and cultures;

RemovedI. whereas the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative (the initiative) was submitted to the European Commission on 15 July 2013, calling for EU action to support national and linguistic minorities by implementing 11 proposals;

AddedI. whereas the general concept of minorities in Europe is covered by a wide range of terms in legal and academic language; whereas these social groups are often interchangeably referred to as national minorities, ethnic groups, traditional or autochthonous minorities, nationalities, inhabitants of constitutional regions, linguistic minorities, groups speaking lesser-used languages, language groups etc.; whereas in order to bypass the difficulty of carrying over the variety of terms used across Europe, the Council of Europe in its Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities, which still represents the highest international standard for minority protection in Europe, uses the term ‘national minority’; whereas the Minority SafePack ECI uses the term ‘national and linguistic minorities’ when referring to such minority groups;

RemovedJ. whereas on 13 September 2013 the same ECI was started, but the European Commission did not find it sufficiently substantiated to register; whereas the organisers of the initiative lodged an appeal at the CJEU, and on 3 February 2017 the Court delivered its judgement annulling the Commission’s decision not to register the initiative;

AddedJ. whereas most national and linguistic minorities face an accelerating trend of assimilation and language loss, which translates into a linguistic and cultural impoverishment within the EU and the loss of its diversity, something the EU is called required protect under the Treaties; whereas education is the main tool for the revitalisation and preservation of minority languages;

RemovedK. whereas in order to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgement of the General Court, the European Commission reviewed the legal admissibility of the initiative and decided on 29 March 2017 to register the initiative on the basis of nine of its initial 11 proposals;

AddedK. whereas the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger lists 186 languages from EU Member States as vulnerable or in danger and three additional languages as extinct;

RemovedL. whereas in line with Article 15 of the ECI Regulation, the Commission’s legal admissibility check is followed by an examination of the substance of the ECI after the successful collection of signatures; whereas the Commission sets out its legal and political conclusions on the initiative on the basis of the EU Treaties;

AddedL. whereas the Minority SafePack ECI was submitted to the Commission on 15 July 2013, calling for EU action to support national and linguistic minorities in 11 areas;

RemovedM. whereas between 3 April 2017 and 3 April 2018 1 128 385 certified signatures were collected in the EU, and the minimum national threshold was reached in 11 Member States;

AddedM. whereas on 13 September 2013, the Commission did not find this sufficiently substantiated to register the ECI; whereas the organisers of the ECI lodged an appeal at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and on 3 February 2017, the General Court of the CJEU delivered its judgment annulling the decision of the Commission;

RemovedN. whereas the ECI is the first instrument for transnational participatory democracy in the world, enabling citizens to engage directly with the EU institutions;

AddedN. whereas in order to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment of the General Court, the Commission reanalysed the legal admissibility of the ECI and through the adoption of Decision (EU) 2017/652, registered the initiative in nine of the 11 areas initially requested;

RemovedO. whereas the Minority SafePack is the fifth successful ECI out of a total of six;

AddedO. whereas in line with Article 15 of the ECI Regulation, the Commission’s legal admissibility check is followed by an examination of the substance of the ECI after the successful collection of signatures; whereas the Commission sets out its legal and political conclusions on the ECI based on the EU Treaties;

RemovedP. whereas according to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2019/788, following the organisation of a public hearing, Parliament shall assess the political support for individual ECIs; whereas in compliance with Rule 222 of its Rules of Procedure, Parliament held a public hearing on 15 October 2020.;

AddedP. whereas in its judgment of 24 September 2019 in Case T-391/17, the General Court of the European Union confirmed the decision of the Commission to register the Minority SafePack ECI;

Removed1. Reiterates its support for the ECI as an instrument, and calls for the full use of its potential; highlights that the ECI is an opportunity for citizens to identify and articulate their aspirations;

AddedQ. whereas between 3 April 2017 and 3 April 2018, 1 123 422 certified signatures were collected in the EU and the minimum national threshold was reached in 11 Member States;

Removed2. Points out that with the new Regulation on the ECI coming into force on 1 January 2020, it is important to facilitate the relaunch of this instrument for participation in the EU’s democratic and political life;

AddedR. whereas the European Citizens’ Initiative is the first instrument for transnational participatory democracy in the world, enabling citizens to engage directly with the EU institutions;

Removed3. Recalls that respect for persons belonging to minorities is a founding value of the EU, together with democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, as set out in Article 2 of the TEU;

AddedS. whereas Minority SafePack is the fifth out of only six successful ECIs so far;

Removed4. Recalls that Article 3(3) of the TEU provides that the Union shall respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity, and shall ensure that Europe’s cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced; stresses that minority languages and cultures are a part of the Union’s culture and heritage; underlines that the Union may encourage actions by Member States to ensure the protection of minority rights;

AddedT. whereas pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2019/788, following the organisation of a public hearing, Parliament must assess the political support for individual ECIs; whereas Parliament held its public hearing on 15 October 2020, in accordance with Article 222 of its Rules of Procedure;

Removed5. Calls on the Commission to present an impact assessment of policy options for a possible common framework of EU minimum standards for the protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, and taking into account national competences;

Added1. Reiterates its strong support for the ECI instrument and calls for the full exploitation of its potential; highlights that the ECI is an exceptional opportunity for citizens to identify and articulate their aspirations and to ask for EU action; stresses that allowing citizens to play an active part in political processes that affect them is essential for bringing the European integration project closer to citizens;

Removed6. Believes that linguistic rights must be respected in communities where there is more than one official language, without limiting the rights of one over another, in line with the constitutional order of each Member State; believes that the promotion of regional languages or the protection of language communities must not lead to discrimination;

Added2. Points out that the new ECI Regulation came into force on 1 January 2020, and that it is of crucial importance that EU and national institutions do everything they can to make the relaunch of this EU participation instrument a success; highlights that the Commission should give due consideration to the requests expressed by over 1.1 million EU citizens through the Minority SafePack ECI;

Removed7. Calls for a mutually reinforcing cooperation between the European Union and the Council of Europe on the protection of the rights of national and linguistic minorities; points out that this cooperation would allow the European Union to build on the achievements and experience of the Council of Europe, and for the Council of Europe to achieve more effective implementation of its recommendations related to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages;

Added3. Recalls that the protection of persons belonging to minorities is an explicit founding value of the EU, together with democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, as set out in Article 2 TEU;

RemovedThe Nine ECI Proposals

Added4. Recalls that Article 3(3) TEU provides that the Union must respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity, and ensure that Europe’s cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced; stresses that minority languages and cultures are an integral and inalienable part of the Union’s culture and heritage; underlines that the Union should encourage actions by Member States to ensure the protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities;

Removed8. Acknowledges that the protection of national and linguistic minorities is the primary responsibility of the Member States; points out, however, that the European Union may play a role in supporting Member States in this endeavour; points out that a number of Member States are successful examples of respectful and harmonious coexistence between different communities;

Added5. Reiterates its call on the Commission to draw up, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, a common framework of EU minimum standards for the protection of rights of persons belonging to minorities, which are strongly embedded in a legal framework guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights throughout the EU;

Removed9. Is of the opinion that cultural and linguistic identity preservation measures that seek to benefit national and linguistic minority communities must aim for positive action, including in the area of culture;

Added6. Calls on the Member States to take all the necessary measures and to uphold the rights of persons belonging to minorities and ensure that these rights are fully respected;

Removed10. Recognises the contribution of ethnic and linguistic minorities to the EU’s cultural heritage, and highlights the role of media in this regard;

Added7. Believes that linguistic rights must be respected in communities where there is more than one official language, without limiting the rights of one group compared with another, in line with the constitutional order of each Member State and its national law; believes that the promotion of regional languages and the protection of language communities should respect the fundamental rights of all persons;

Removed11. Points out that linguistic diversity is a valuable component of Europe’s cultural wealth, and should be protected so as to ensure that regional or minority languages can be passed on from one generation to the next; expresses its concern about regional or minority languages that are at risk of becoming extinct;

Added8. Considers that the EU should continue to raise awareness for multilingualism throughout Europe through EU programmes, and actively promote the advantages of multilingualism;

Removed12. Calls on the European Union and the Member States to take into account national or linguistic minorities when designing funding programmes; considers that the protection of multilingualism and cultural diversity is a motor for regional development and innovation;

Added9. Recalls that there is no common definition of who can be considered a person belonging to a national or linguistic minority in the EU; underlines the need to protect all minorities, regardless of definition, and stresses that any definition should be applied in a flexible manner while respecting the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and non-discrimination;

Removed13. Believes that every EU citizen should be able to enjoy culture and entertainment in their own language; calls on the Commission, therefore, to carry out an assessment and take the most appropriate measures to allow this, while taking due account of national language laws; notes that, since the submission of the initiative to the European Commission in 2013, essential proposals related to copyright and audio-visual media have been already adopted by the co-legislators;

Added10. Calls for mutually reinforcing cooperation between the EU and the Council of Europe in the area of protecting the rights of national and linguistic minorities; points out that such cooperation would offer the EU the possibility to build upon the achievements and experience of the Council of Europe while allowing the Council of Europe to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of its recommendations issued in relation to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages; encourages the Member States to implement and ratify the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages;

Removed14. Expresses its support for the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative; points out that the initiative registered by the Commission calls for legislative proposals in nine distinct areas, and recalls that the initiative expects each individual proposal to be verified and assessed on its own merit, taking into account the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;

AddedOn the nine ECI proposals

Added11. Acknowledges that the protection of national and linguistic minorities is the primary responsibility of the Member States’ authorities; points out, however that the Union has a powerful role to play in supporting the Member States’ authorities in this endeavour; points out that a number of the Member States represent successful examples of respectful and harmonious coexistence of different communities, including in the areas of language and cultural revitalisation policies; calls on Member States to exchange best practices on the protection of and support for the rights of persons belonging to minorities, and calls on the EU to facilitate such exchanges;

Added12. Is of the opinion that cultural and linguistic identity preservation measures for the benefit of persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities must aim at positive action, including in the areas of education, culture and public services;

Added13. Expresses its concern about the alarming increase of hate crime and hate speech, motivated by racism, xenophobia or intolerance, directed at persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities in Europe; calls on the Commission and the Member States to launch anti-hate speech campaigns as well as to combat racism and xenophobia towards persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities;

Added14. Recognises the contribution of national and linguistic minorities to the cultural heritage of the EU and highlights the role of media;

Added15. Points out that linguistic diversity is a valuable component of Europe’s cultural wealth, which should be protected so as to ensure that regional or minority languages can be passed on from one generation to the next; expresses its strong concern about regional or minority languages that are exposed to the risk of extinction; underlines the need to take more action in this area; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to promote language learning throughout the EU, including the learning of minority languages; notes that the ECI calls for the establishment of a European language diversity centre with the aim of protecting the rich diversity of European languages;

Added16. Calls on the EU and its Member States to take account of the needs of national and linguistic minorities when designing its funding programmes; considers that the protection of multilingualism and cultural diversity is a motor for regional development and innovation and therefore considers that the European Structural and Investment Funds and Cohesion Funds should take it into account; believes that funding from Horizon Europe for the study of cultural and linguistic diversity and its effect on economic development in the regions of the EU would allow for the better targeting of public policies for national and linguistic minorities;

Added17. Acknowledges the role of language in culture; is concerned that cultural operators active in regional or minority languages may face an additional challenge in reaching wide audiences and accessing financial and administrative resources; calls on the Member States to take into account regional situations and develop measures to help cultural operators in expressing the freedom of culture, regardless of their linguistic or other specificities;

Added18. Believes that every EU citizen should be able to enjoy culture and entertainment in his or her own language; points out that linguistic minorities are often too small or lack the institutional support to build up a comprehensive system of media services of their own; calls on the Commission in this regard to make an assessment and take the most appropriate measures to support the development of such media services; notes that since the submission of the Minority SafePack ECI to the Commission in 2013, essential copyright and audiovisual media services-related proposals have already adopted by the co-legislators; acknowledges the recently adopted Commission communication on the first short-term review of the Geo-blocking Regulation (COM(2020)0766), in which the Commission proposes a detailed stock-taking exercise for 2022, by when the full effects of the regulation will have become apparent; welcomes the Commission’s plan to engage in a dialogue with stakeholders on audiovisual content as part of its media and audiovisual action plan; stresses the need to ensure that minority language concerns are taken into consideration in future regulations;

Added19. Points out that a large number of stateless people in the European Union belong to national and linguistic minorities; considers that, taking due account of the sovereignty and competences of Member States, positive measures could be and are being taken in this regard; points out that granting or withdrawing citizenship is a national competence;

Added20. Expresses its support for the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Minority SafePack – one million signatures for diversity in Europe’; calls on the Commission to act on it and to propose legal acts based on the Treaties and the ECI Regulation, and in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality; points out that the initiative registered by the Commission calls for legislative proposals in nine distinct areas and recalls the request within the initiative that each individual proposal be verified and assessed on its own merit;