About: ethnic minorities
Commission rejects call for new laws protecting national minorities
The European Commission said on Friday (15 January) that it would not propose new laws in response to a petition demanding a protection package for national minorities that garnered 1.1 million signatures across the EU.
Germany’s minorities call for action after shisha bar shootings
German Kurds called on Thursday (20 February) for stronger government action against far-right radicalism and racism as they mourned the victims of a gun attack on two shisha lounges.
Football, national identity and belonging in today’s Europe
The euphoria triggered by the FIFA World Cup quickly gave way to divisive, ugly debates about national identity and race, around players of diverse ethnic origins. These controversies highlight the need for measured exchanges on belonging in today’s Europe, writes Michael O'Flaherty.
Romania’s ruling left sinks own government for second time in a year
Romania's left-wing Prime Minister Mihai Tudose resigned on Monday (15 January) after losing the backing of his party due to internal power struggles, barely seven months after his predecessor suffered the same fate.
Making violence against ethnic minority women visible
Race, ethnicity and religion play a role in minority women’s experiences of discrimination and violence. As a result, women with multi-layered identities are more vulnerable, but this reality is rarely acknowledged, let alone tackled effectively, writes Amel Yacef.
Bulgarian politician dumped for siding with Turkey
The leader of Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish party has been ousted from his post and expelled from the party yesterday (24 December), officially for declaring support for Turkey in its row with Moscow over the downing of a Russian warplane.
Chinese erosion of Tibetan identity should not be tolerated
Chinese development projects in the mountain region are wiping out the ethnic and cultural identity of the Tibetans, writes Madi Sharma.
Aung San Suu Kyi calls on the world to closely watch the Myanmar election
As official campaigning starts in Myanmar’s long-awaited general election the leader of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi called on the world to keep a close eye on the process.
Data protection reform: Why it matters for ethnic and religious minorities
A large amount of data is collected in the EU in contradiction with data protection safeguards and legal standards, writes Andreas Hieronymus.
Upcoming Latvian EU presidency slammed for anti-Russian bias
Russia protested today (21 November) statements by the Latvian ambassador to the EU for having made comments about Russian propaganda, at a public event highlighting the priorities of the upcoming Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Romania condemns irredentist statements by Hungarian politician
Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned a recent statement made by the leader of the Hungarian radical nationalist party, Jobbik, claiming that Hungary should seek autonomy for the Hungarian-populated Székely Land in Romania.
Macedonia opposition leaves parliament
The socialist opposition in EU candidate country Macedonia has announced it is leaving the country's parliament, in protest against a move by the centre-right government to block the bank accounts of several media companies.
France still under Commission scrutiny on Roma
France abided by a European Commission deadline at the last minute by submitting information on how it intends to align its national legislation with EU laws on the free movement of people just before midnight on 15-16 October. But the country remains under scrutiny to determine whether its summer crackdown on illegal Roma camps amounted to discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, the Commission said.Serbs, Muslims clash in Kosovo following basketball match
Three international peacekeepers and six locals were wounded in Kosovo's divided town of Mitrovica yesterday (12 September) after Serbia had lost a World Basketball Championship game in Istanbul the night before, according to officials.
Russian speakers ‘excluded’ from EU brochures in Latvia
The European Commission should continue to provide information in non-official EU languages, MEPs urged this week (15 March), expressing disappointment that Russian-language fact-sheets produced by the EU executive's offices in Latvia were recently withdrawn.
Call for ‘civic disobedience’ to save minority languages
Action at grassroots rather than EU level holds the key to ensuring the survival of minority languages such as Galician, heard a major conference at the European Parliament last week, with participants calling for an end to oppressive legislation like Slovakia's language law.
MEPs push for EU recognition of Catalan, Welsh languages
Catalan, Basque, Galician, Welsh and Scots Gaelic should be made official languages of the European Union, MEPs said last week, accusing Brussels of failing to protect "the rights of millions of speakers of non-official EU languages" and calling on the EU institutions to do "much more" to promote multilingualism.EU confirmation hearings take nasty turn
Put in a difficult position by Rumiana Jeleva's weak performance at her parliamentary hearing earlier this week, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) is threatening to counter-attack by asking for a socialist head to roll.
EU urged to use new treaty to support language rights
The European Commission should use legal changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty to protect the rights of linguistic minorities in the European Union, Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka has urged.
German MEP slams Slovak language law
A new state language law passed by the Slovak parliament does not conform to EU standards as it discriminates against minority languages, the vice-chair of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee said yesterday (9 July).
Bosnia vote marks nationalist surge
Local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina yesterday (5 October) confirmed deep ethnic divisions within the Balkan country, which is seen as a natural candidate for EU accession.