Every year, FUEN organises the largest meeting of the autochthonous minorities in Europe. The FUEN-congresses have been taking place since 1949. Between 150-250 representatives from all over Europe attend these congresses, which are always organised by one of the member organisations of FUEN. In 2014 the 65 year jubilee of FUEN was celebrated in Flensburg, Germany.

Upcoming congresses
Congress 2018 - Ljouwert/Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
Congress 2017 - Kolozsvár/Cluj-Napoca/Klausenburg, Romania

Past Congresses
Congress 2016 - Wrocław/Breslau, Poland
Congress 2015 - Komotini/Gümülcine/Κομοτηνή
Congress 2014 - Flensburg/Flensborg, Germany
Congress 2013 – Brixen, South Tyrol / Italy
Congress 2012 – Moscow, Russia
Congress 2011 – Eisenstadt/Željezno, Austria
Congress 2010 – Ljubljana, Slovenia
Congress 2009 – Brussels, Belgium
Congress 2008 – Pécs, Hungary
Congress 2007 – Tallinn, Estonia
Congress 2006 - Bautzen / Budyšin, Germany
Overview of FUEN Congresses. More...

Official documents
FUEN Statutes
FUEN Rules of Procedure

Brochure
Living Diversity – Shaping Europe

Key topics
Fundamental Rights
FUEN Charter
The Right to Education
The Right to Information and Media
The Right to Political Participation
Programmatic Declaration 2013

European Citizens' Initiative
Minority Safepack Initiative
Minority Safepack Initiative Flyer
Minority Safepack Initiative Basic Information

Forum of the European Minorities / House of Minorities
House of Minorities – feasibility study

Solidarity with the Roma
Solidarity with the Roma – Minorities help Minorities
Eisenstadt Declaration

Campaign language diversity
Flyer
What lies behind it?
Linguistic diversity and multilingualism in Europe

Activity reports
FUEN activity report 2015
FUEN activity report 2014
FUEN activity report 2013
FUEN activity report 2012
FUEN activity report 2011

Assembly of Delegates
Resolutions 2015
Resolutions 2014
Resolutions 2013. More...

Multilingualism and linguistic diversity are fundamental values of Europe. This is enshrined in Article 22 of the Charter for Fundamental Rights of the European Union: “The Union shall respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.”
The EUROMOSAIC study, which was commissioned by the European Commission, found that the critical threshold for the survival of a language lies at 300,000 speakers. More...

The idea of establishing a Forum of the European Minorities (FEM) emerged at a think-tank meeting that took place in Berlin in 2012 (funded by Denmark) and at this moment it is developed further.
A grant from the INTERREG-programme enables us, in our project “House of Minorities” that is following up on the ideas of 2013-2015, to show the abilities and qualities of the minorities as well as their diversity and to reap the benefits for the society as a whole. More...

The 10 to 12 million Roma, with European citizenship, are among the groups on our continent who are most marginalised. Many of them live under inhumane conditions.
FUEN is committed to be in solidarity with the Roma. As the largest umbrella organisation of the minorities in Europe, it can use the expertise of its members to the benefit of the participation of the Roma in all areas of public and political life. Minorities have proven social and intercultural skills, which makes them suited to act as mediators and bridge-builders. More...

FUEN is the umbrella organisation of the autochthonous, national minorities and ethnic groups in Europe:
Self-Conception
The autochthonous, national minorities / ethnic groups are the minorities that came into being as a result of developments in European history, as a result of change in borders and other historical events. The autochthonous, national minorities / ethnic groups are also the peoples of Europe who have never established a state of their own and who live as a minority in the territory of a state.
(from the FUEN Charter)
There are more than 400 European minorities in Europe. One in seven Europeans is part of an autochthonous minority or speaks a regional or minority language.
The needs and challenges of these 400 communities can be very heterogeneous. There are excellent models to achieve a balance between minorities and majorities in Europe. But there are also states that deny the existence of their autochthonous minorities.
The European minorities ask for more attention and influence in their regions, their states and on the European level.

Linguistic diversity
According to official numbers of the EU there are, apart from 24 official languages of the European Union, more than 60 regional and minority languages. Their total number of speakers is estimated at 40 million citizens. There are 90 languages in Europe; 37 of these are national languages, and 53 languages are regarded as “languages without a state”.
The EUROMOSAIC-study that was commissioned by the European Commission estimates that the critical number of speakers for survival of a language lies at 300,000 speakers.
One of the large languages without a state is Catalan, with circa 6 million speakers. Some language communities such as the Welsh, Basques, West Frisians, Bretons and some of the languages of Russia, like Bashkir and Chuvash, are above the critical threshold. Below this threshold, however, is the large majority of regional and minority languages, such as Ladin, Rhaeto-Romansh, Upper and Lower Sorbian, North Frisian and Kashubian.
According to UNESCO, half of the 6000 existing languages in the world are critically endangered. More...

FUEN, with around 90 member organisations in33 European countries is the largest umbrella organisation of the autochthonous, national minorities / ethnic groups in Europe.
FUEN was founded in Paris in 1949 – in the same year as the Council of Europe.
FUEN adopted the Charter for the autochthonous, national minorities in Europe in 2006. The Charter forms the basis of the actions of FUEN. 
FUEN represents the interests of the European minorities on regional, national and in particular on the European level. FUEN is committed to protect and promote the identity, language, culture, rights and own character of the European minorities.
FUEN is the voice of the minorities at the international organisations, notably at the European Union and the Council of Europe and also at the United Nations and the OSCE.
FUEN is also full member of the European Civil Society Platform for Multilingualism established by the European Commission, and Participant in the Fundamental Rights Platform
FUEN has participatory status at the Council of Europe and consultative status at the United Nations.
FUEN, in cooperation with the European Parliament, established the European Dialogue Forum.
FUEN’s main projects are, besides representation of interests, to establish a forum of the European minorities, European linguistic diversity, the FUEN project Solidarity with the Roma and a European citizens’ initiative of the minorities.
FUEN organises the largest congress of the autochthonous minorities in Europe every year – where 150-250 representatives of the European minorities meet each other.
FUEN issues press releases, resolutions, statements and publishes the “Fundamental Rights of the Minorities” from the FUEN Charter.
FUEN organises – in cooperation with its members – many different events. For example the EUROPEADA, the football championship of the European minorities, and the annual meetings of the German, Slavic and Turkic minorities. More...

FUEN was founded in the Palais de Chaillot in Paris on 20 November 1949.
In the early years this young, all-European organisation was dominated by regionalists. Everywhere in Europe border posts were symbolically torn down. With national-socialism the states had failed – Europe needed a new order. The regions of Europe had to be strengthened.
The first “Congress of Nationalities” was attended by around 200 people. The participants felt closely connected to the ideas behind the Council of Europe, which was established in 1949 as well.
Very soon, it became clear that the regionalists and the people representing the national minorities and language minorities had different interests and pursued different goals. Over the years, FUEN has lived on, as an umbrella organisation for the autochthonous, national minorities and ethnic groups in Europe.
For a long time FUEN has been an organisation dominated by Western Europe, which only very infrequently had contacts with Central and Eastern Europe.
That changed at once with the historical changes in 1989 / 1990. The national minorities in Central and Eastern Europe had the opportunity to establish organisations and claimed their rights. In these years FUEN incorporated many new member organisations and developed into an all-European organisation.
At the beginning of the nineties FUEN strongly advocated for sustainable and comprehensive minority protection in Europe – e.g. with the Cottbus Declarations of FUEN, which had a decisive influence on the legal documents of the Council of Europe that are currently in force, namely the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
The main activity of the year, as it has been for over 65 years, is the annual FUEN-congress. But meanwhile meetings of the working groups of the German, Slavic and Turkic minorities in FUEN have been added. And an EU-funded network and campaign for linguistic diversity, the Dialogue Forum with the European Parliament and the football championship for the European minorities are now also among the diverse activities of the largest umbrella organisation of the autochthonous minorities in Europe.
In 2006 the Charter for the autochthonous, national minorities in Europe was unanimously adopted. It is the key document of FUEN with 13 fundamental rights enshrined in it.
In 2009 the 60 year jubilee of FUEN was celebrated in the European Parliament and in the premises of the Committee of the Regions.
In 2014 the 65 year jubilee of FUEN was celebrated in Flensburg, Germany. More...

The North-South Center of the Council of Europe is pleased to announce that Ms Guisepina Nicolini, Mayor of the City of Lampedusa, and Ms Mbarka Brahmi, member of the Tunisian parliament have accepted the nomination of the jury of the North South Prize to be the recipients of the 2016 North South Prize of the Council of Europe. More...

The Council of Europe and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) are jointly organising on 15 December in Strasbourg a high level seminar to discuss the potential for co-operation to promote and protect freedom of expression and the safety of journalists in member states. More...