01/02/23 (Agence Europe) – In a report published on Wednesday 1 February, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the protection of minority languages welcomes Sweden’s increased financial support, but deplores clear shortcomings. It calls for an increase in bilingual education in Finnish and Sami and the creation of bilingual education in Meänkieli (a Finnish-Ugric language spoken mainly in the Torne Valley). The committee denounces the failure to comply with the recommendation to ensure legal remedy where the use of minority languages has not been respected. It also calls for the establishment of a structure to collect reliable data on the number and geographical distribution of minority language speakers. The Committee of Experts’ next report is due by 1 June 2026. Sweden will have to provide an information report by December 2023. Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/55m (VL)