The European Parliament’s Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages held an extraordinary meeting on 7 February. During the meeting, two Hungarian politicians from the Zakarpattia Oblast (Subcarpathia) region of Ukraine, Miklós Kovács, president of the Cultural Association Of Hungarians in Subcarpathia and László Brenzovics, deputy president of the Subcarpathian Regional Council presented the situation of the Hungarian community in in the region and the political stakes of the upcoming Ukrainian elections.

During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels from 2 February, MEPs voted with overwhelming majority for the motion for an EP resolution on the European dimension of sport activities based on a report of the Committee on Culture and Education. The elaboration of the report was made possible by the Lisbon Treaty, which elevates the field of sport into EU competence. The document can be considered a response to the European Commission’s white paper on the subject from last year.

The January plenary session of the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg was dominated by mid-term elections inside the house. MEPs elected a new President, while the committees and working groups also changed their leader.

MEPs Csaba Sógor and Anders Wijkman organized a book presentation in the European Parliament on the 11th of January 2012 in cooperation with the Swedish Environmental Institute. The event hosted the presentation of László Szombatfalvy’s book entitled The Greatest Challenges of Our Time. The volume can be accessed freely on the http://thegreatestchallengesofourtime.com website and has been published in print in English.

The European Parliament’s Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages held its last meeting this year on the 15th of December in Strasbourg. The agenda presented several topics: a presentation of The Movement of Reconciliation and the Charter of Reconciliation, an analysis of the situation of Slovakian citizens deprived of their citizenship in the presence of Olivér Boldoghy and the presentation of an English volume about the work and fate of János Esterházy.

The 20th Congress of the European People’s Party is being held between the 7th and the 8th of December in Marseille. On the occasion of the Congress, heads of state and government of the EPP will hold a consultative meeting in preparation for the upcoming EU Summit in Brussels.

Five Hungarian speaking MEPs – Edit Bauer, Kinga Gál, Alajos Mészáros, Csaba Sógor and László Tőkés spoke at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels on the 30th of November about the situation of Olivér Boldoghy, whose citizenship has been revoked by the Slovakian Ministry of Interior after it became known that he received the citizenship of another EU member state, Hungary.

The Tibet Intergroup and the South-Asian Delegation of the European Parliament co-organized a conference about the subject of the Tibetan autonomy on the 29th of November in the European Parliament.

The European Charlemagne Youth Prize is awarded jointly and annually by the European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen. The Prize is awarded to young  Europeans, who enable projects that facilitate the exchange of cultural experience and a better understanding of each other’s culture.

MEPs discussed the situation of the Roma in the member states of the European Union during the plenary session of the European Parliament on the 16th of November. Representative of the Polish Presidency at the Council and secretary of state in charge of equality of chances El¿bieta Radziszewska and Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou attended the meeting to answer MEP’s questions.