Zsolt Németh: Ukraine must guarantee minority language rights
Strasbourg (MTI) – Ukraine must ensure that national minorities living in its territory can retain the language rights they currently enjoy, even if the country passes its new language law, Zsolt Németh, head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said on Wednesday.
Ukrainian lawmakers recently drafted a bill that would criminalise degrading treatment or disrespect of the Ukrainian language in public.
Decentralisation is a key requirement for Ukraine under the Minsk Agreement, but the country must also take into consideration the region’s ethnic makeup, Németh told MTI by phone after participating in a debate on Ukraine in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg.
Németh said the recent education and language bills in Ukraine gave cause for concern. He said approving the language bill would be a step back for Ukraine.
Németh stressed that the European People’s Party fully supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence. He said it was important to show solidarity towards Ukraine, arguing that the European Union can only expect positive results from that country if its public knows it has Europe’s support.
But he said Europe also has responsibilities towards Ukraine. The ratification of the Ukraine-EU association agreement and giving Ukraine visa-free status are both crucial steps without which Ukraine will not be able to benefit from European cooperation, Németh said.
Photos: MTI
Source: MTI
2 Comments
Please, don’t be too big-hearted about Ukraine. Some people may think that once Ukraine is nearly accepted in the EU, this makes that country complying all EU democratic standards, etc. That’s not quite true. To know why, you need to see this petition to president of Ukraine https://petition.president.gov.ua/petition/35671 The problem is that such petitions are absolutely not helping the Hungarian minority in West Ukraine. These days, Ukraine is literally awash with nationalism spirit. To a large extent, the problem of Hungarian minority for Ukrainians sounds like that: no Hungarian minority – no problem. Sad but true, it is Hungary itself that can help Hungarian minority in West Ukraine. That needs action.
For years, St. Istvan wanted peace in all neighboring states which extended beyond the Karpathian mountains after centuries of wars and bloodshed. He provided safe havens for all neighbors to feel safe and protected within the empire. Attacks continued in the centuries following and the world wars really hit badly. Today people ignore or are ignorant of history and what had been the outcome. They believe that some liberal S.O.B. will save them. Look no further than the Liberal DADDY, the N.W.O. which is what Orban(EU) and Putyin both are fighting perhaps along with China, which is why their economies have been attacked in the last several years. Pray these uneducated neighbors will somehow learn and unite against the REAL enemy, or wait and watch how they will disappear finally forever!! Their CHOICE!