Millions call on EU to protect regional cultures — Will Brussels listen?
Cultural and linguistic diversity, respect for the rights of minorities and participatory democracy are fundamental values of the European Union, Hadja Lahbib, the commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management, said in Strasbourg on Thursday.
Addressing a European Parliament debate on the European citizens’ initiative dubbed ‘Cohesion Policy for the Equality of the Regions and Sustainability of the Regional Cultures’, Lahbib said the European Commission was examining the initiative with those values in mind.
She added, at the same time, that any action the EC took must be in line with the competences conferred by the EU treaties, while other matters remained the responsibility of member states.
Lahbib said cohesion policy was the EU’s investment policy for regions, cities and rural areas aimed at giving “Europeans the right to stay in the place they call home, ensuring access to job opportunities and public services, and enhancing the quality of life for EU citizens”.
The European Regional Development Fund, she added, has already invested around 22 billion euros in inclusive growth and the integration of marginalised groups, while 2 billion euros from the European Social Fund Plus goes towards support for communities with specific linguistic and cultural characteristics. A further 5.2 billion euros is being invested in culture and heritage initiatives, the commissioner said.
“One of our key principles is partnership, which requires the meaningful involvement of stakeholders, including civil society and organisations representing marginalised groups throughout the programme life-cycle,” Lahbib said.
The EC, she added, also paid special attention to Article 21 of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights on non-discrimination. “Cohesion policy already addresses many of the concerns raised by this initiative,” she said, adding that the EC had long ago strengthened provisions on non-discrimination.
Kinga Gál, an MEP of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz, said she had been following the “fight” for regional equality for 12 years.
She said regions with unique national, cultural, linguistic and religious characteristics all faced similar problems. “Young people are forced to emigrate because they don’t have equal opportunities or a clear outlook,” Gál said.
The Fidesz MEP said the EC would have the power to support national and linguistic minorities, but “the political will isn’t there”.
“Specific action is needed to enable these communities to prosper in their homeland, to preserve cultural values and traditions or carry out investments that can prevent natural disasters like the floods in Szekler Land and the Praid salt mine disaster,” Gál said. She criticised the EC’s “hostile and discriminatory approach”, saying it was time the body took action “at the request of more than one million citizens”.
Gabriella Gerzsenyi, an MEP of Hungary’s opposition Tisza Party, said that growing up in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region, she had experienced the challenges faced by minority communities. At the same time, she said, she saw “the strength that can be found in belonging to a nation, a common language and culture”.
She said the 1.4 million signatures collected for the citizens’ initiative was “the first step towards success”, expressing her agreement with the initiative’s basic principles. Gerzsenyi said giving regions inhabited by national minorities “the appropriate legal recognition” could provide a good basis for eliminating regional inequality.
Read more European Union-related news on Daily News Hungary!
Read also: