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Strasbourg, 29.04.2016 – The Council of Europe published a report on the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by Slovakia, along with the comments of the Slovak authorities and the Committee of Ministers recommendations. The Charter, which entered into force in Slovakia in 2002, protects 10 languages: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, German, Hungarian, Polish, Romani, Ruthenian, Ukrainian and Yiddish. The report notes that Slovakia recently adopted a Human Rights Strategy, and that an action plan concerning the rights of persons belonging to national minorities is being prepared. Read more

Strasbourg, 21.01.2016 - The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe today issued six recommendations to the Spanish authorities on the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. It also published a Report by a committee of experts assessing Spain´s compliance with the Charter. Read more

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) was signed by France on 7 May 1999 but has not yet been ratified. In January 2014, the National Assembly adopted, with a large majority, a constitutional amendment permitting also the ratification of the treaty. The Senate will debate that proposed constitutional amendment on 27 October and on 3 November 2015. The approval by the Congress, the actual amendment of the Constitution and the actual ratification of the Charter are still pending. Read more

Strasbourg, 02.12.2015 – The Committee of Ministers today made public an evaluation report and recommendations on the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages in Poland. Read more

Strasbourg, 02.12.2015 – The Council of Europe today called on the Czech Republic to step up its efforts to protect and promote minority languages, in particular German and Romani.
The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers issued a number of recommendations to the Czech Republic based on an expert committee’s report which evaluates its compliance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
In the report, the committee highlights the existence of a well-developed general framework for the protection of national minorities in the country and acknowledges the existence of a special funding programme for the implementation of the Charter. Read more

Out of the 25 countries that have ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML), 15 have officially recognised Romani as a minority language traditionally present on their territory. This is the highest number of ratifications for a single language under the Charter and it reflects, among others, the status of Romani as a European language.
From the two options of ratification, general protection under Part II of the Charter or the definition of special provisions in support of a language under Part III, the majority, two-thirds of the countries, opted for general protection that automatically applies to all languages traditionally spoken on the territory of a state. Read more

ECRI is a human rights body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts, which monitors problems of racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, intolerance and discrimination on grounds such as “race”, national/ethnic origin, colour, citizenship, religion and language (racial discrimination); it prepares reports and issues recommendations to member States. More...

Once every two years, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe has to present to the Parliamentary Assembly a detailed report on the application of the Charter. This ensures that the members of Europe’s parliaments are kept informed about the application of the Charter, enabling them to bring political pressure to bear, if necessary, to encourage national governments to take appropriate measures. More...

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...