Under the terms of its Article 15 (1), each State Party is required to present its first report “within the year following the entry into force of the Charter with respect to the Party concerned, the other reports at three-yearly intervals after the first report”. The dates the Charter entered into force in the different States Parties can be consulted here. More...

The Charter’s objective is to make the use of regional and minority languages normal in everyday life, not just at home but also in public and before state institutions. Their regular use will contribute to their preservation and development. This is equally important for big and small languages, whether spoken by several million people or just a few hundred. However, one of the most important contributions of the Charter is awareness-raising in states parties about their rich cultural heritage contained in their regional and minority languages and the cultures they reflect. It is ultimately the responsibility of the majority to protect and promote these languages. More...

The Committee of independent experts, established in accordance with Article 17 of the Charter, is composed of one member for each State Party. The members are appointed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from "a list of individuals of the highest integrity and recognised competence in the matters dealt with in the Charter, who shall be nominated by the Party concerned". More...

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages provides for a monitoring mechanism to evaluate how the Charter is applied in a State Party with a view to, where necessary, making recommendations for improvements in its legislation, policy and practice. The central element of the monitoring mechanism is a Committee of independent experts, established in accordance with Article 17 of the Charter. More...

NGOs must be regarded by states as preferred partners in the pursuit of the shared aim of promoting language diversity. Their role is decisive, both before and after ratification of the Charter. Prior to ratification, they may assist states to choose the languages concerned and the provisions of Part III that they wish to apply within their territory. Their role in the monitoring of the honouring of commitments is to advise the committee of experts and the national authorities of any problem that may arise when the Charter is implemented in states. More...

EuroNews

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages - Language Guides

اللغة العربية في اسبانيا
Bosanski u Srbiji
Català a Espanya
Čeština na Slovensku
Čeština v Bosně a Hercegovině
Čeština v Chorvatsku
Čeština v Polsku
Čeština v Rumunsku
Čeština v Srbsku
Deutsch in Armenien
Deutsch in Bosnien und Herzegowina
Deutsch in Dänemark
Deutsch in Kroatien
Deutsch in Ungarn
Deutsch in Polen
Deutsch in Rumänien
Deutsch in Serbien
Deutsch in der Slowakei
Deutsch in Slowenien
Deutsch in der Schweiz
Deutsch in der Tschechischen Republik
Deutsch in der Ukraine
Հայերեն Հունգարիայում
Հայերեն Ռումինիայում
Hrvatski u Mađarskoj
Hrvatski u Rumunjskoj
Hrvatski u Slovačkoj
Hrvatski u Sloveniji
Hrvatski u Srbiji
Italiano in Bosnia Erzegovina
Italiano in Croazia
Italiano in Romania
Italiano in Slovenia
Italiano in Svizzera
Limba română în Bosnia și Herțegovina
Limba română în Serbia
Limba română în Ucraina
Limba română în Ungaria
Magyar Ukrajnában
Polski język na Węgrzech
Polski język w Rumunii
Polski język na Słowacji
Polski język w Czechach
Polski język na Ukrainie
Qırımtatar tili Ukrainada
Româna băiașă în Croația
Rromani chib andi Romania
Rromani chib andi Finland
Rromani chib andi Netherlanda
Rromani chib andi Norway
Rromani chib andi Slovenia
Rromani chib andi Sverige
Русский язык в Армении
Русский язык в Польше
Русский язык в Румынии
Русский язык в Украине
Русский язык в Финляндии
Slovenský jazyk na Ukrajine
Suomen kieli Ruotsissa
Valencià a Espanya
Abkhazian in Georgia
Arabic in Spain
Armenian in Georgia
Armenian in Hungary
Armenian in Romania
Assyrian in Georgia
Avar in Georgia
Azeri in Georgia
Bosnian in Serbia
Boyash Romanian in Croatia
Bulgarian in Ukraine
Catalan in Spain
Crimean Tatar in Ukraine
Croatian in Hungary
Croatian in Romania
Croatian in Serbia
Croatian in Slovakia
Croatian in Slovenia
Czech in Bosnia & Herzegovina
Czech in Croatia
Czech in Poland
Czech in Romania
Czech in Serbia
Czech in Slovakia
Estonian in Georgia
Finnish in Sweden
German in Armenia
German in Bosnia & Herzegovina
German in Croatia
German in the Czech Republic
German in Denmark
German in Georgia
German in Hungary
German in Poland
German in Romania
German in Serbia
German in Slovakia
German in Slovenia
German in Switzerland
German in Ukraine
Greek in Ukraine
Hungarian in Ukraine
Italian in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Italian in Croatia
 Italian in Romania
Italian in Slovenia
Italian in Switzerland
Kist Chechen in Georgia
Kurdish in Georgia
Ossetian in Georgia
Polish in the Czech Republic
Polish in Georgia
Polish in Hungary
Polish in Romania
Polish in Slovakia
Polish in Ukraine
Pontic Greek in Georgia
Romani in Finland
Romani in the Netherlands
Romani in Norway
Romani in Romania
Romani in Slovenia
Romani in Sweden
Romanian in Bosnia & Herzegovina
Romanian in Hungary
Romanian in Serbia
Romanian in Ukraine
Russian in Armenia
Russian in Finland
Russian in Georgia
Russian in Poland
Russian in Romania
Russian in Ukraine
Slovakian in Bosnia & Herzegovina
Slovakian in Croatia
Slovakian in Serbia
Slovakian in Ukraine
Swedish in Finland
Udi in Georgia
Ukrainian in Georgia
Urum Turkish in Georgia
Valencian in Spain. More...

The following 25 States have ratified the Charter. More...

AUTHENTIC VERSIONS
English
ETS No. 148: Chart of signatures and ratifications, Full text of the Charter, Explanatory Report, Summary
Source: Treaty Office of the Council of Europe

French
ETS No. 148: Chart of signatures and ratifications, Full text, Explanatory report, Summary of the Charter
Source: Treaty Office of the Council of Europe

OTHER LANGUAGES
In some cases, the translated texts of the Charter and/or Explanatory Report listed below are used for official purposes by the State in question, but in other cases the translation is of a purely unofficial nature. More...

Part III lays down detailed rules in a number of fields, some of which develop the basic principles affirmed in Part II. States undertake to apply those provisions of Part III to which they have subscribed. Firstly they have to specify the languages to which they agree to this part being applied, and then they have to select at least thirty-five undertakings in respect of each language. A large number of provisions consist of several options, of varying degrees of stringency, one of which has to be chosen “according to the situation of each language”. More...