Csaba Sógor: The Commission should establish a European minority protection monitoring mechanism
Members of the European Parliament proposed the establishment of a monitoring mechanism that would make Member States meet the Copenhagen criteria even after they have joined the EU, promoting the respect of the core values of the European Union.
The EP adopted the report on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union on Tuesday, September the 8th during the Strasburg plenary session. The report includes the amendments of the Minority Intergroup and of several national minority representatives from the LIBE committee of the EP, and calls for consistency regarding the protection of minorities.
RMDSZ MEP Csaba Sógor welcomes the fact that all political groups of the European Parliament agree – as mentioned in the report – that double standards should be avoided and that there is a need for a monitoring system to ensure the enforcement of the rights of minorities. The Transylvanian politician pointed out during the debate: it is the common goal of every political party to fight against language based discrimination and the administrative obstacles that stand in the way of linguistic diversity. The MEP underlined that this is a major step in the right direction and added: representatives of national minorities have been advocating for years, decades even, asking the European Union to approach our issues in this spirit.
“We should make sure, that after the resolution of the European Parliament the Commission also takes this approach and establishes a functional European minority protection monitoring mechanism” – stressed Csaba Sógor in the EP.
The rapport entitled The situation of fundamental rights in the EU (2013-2014) calls for the creation of an effective mechanism that would guarantee minority rights in every accession candidate country and Member State. The document also reminds the Commission that it's role as guardian of the Treaties does not stop with noting the transposition of EU directives into national legislations, but that it should also extend to monitoring the correct application of these laws, therefore the report notes with regret that the Commission has refused to consider numerous petitions in the field of minority rights, claiming a lack of competence in such areas.
