The European Parliament Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages informed the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, on Tuesday 19 January, of its “deep disappointment” at the institution’s decision not to follow up on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) for ‘Diversity in Europe’ (see EUROPE 12638/23).
The Commission had announced on Friday 15 January that it would not adopt any of the nine legislative acts proposed under the ECI.
“While there are legal limits to what the European Union can do for the protection and promotion of traditional autochthonous national and linguistic minorities, many EU competences are of direct relevance for the special situation of persons belonging to minorities”, the Intergroup's chairpersons say in a letter also signed by 64 MEPs.
The Intergroup regrets this decision all the more since the EU Court of Justice had “firmly” stated in 2019 (see EUROPE 12334/15) that nothing prevented the Commission from submitting proposals in this area.
Finally, for Democracy International, the lack of response to initiatives that have gathered the required number of signatures undermines the credibility of the ECI as “the only instrument of transnational direct democracy in the world”, as well as “European participatory democracy”. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)