Minority languages are not barriers but treasures, Zsigmond said in a speech at Hungary's permanent representation to the Council of Europe, marking the 30th anniversary of Hungary’s ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. "They are not relics of the past but living resources of the future," he added.

Hungary shows respect to communities that have preserved and passed on their mother tongues from generation to generation, the state secretary said.

He lamented, however, that despite "15 years of hard work", the goals of the minority protection package had not been implemented in Brussels. Earlier this month, he noted, the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed an appeal and upheld the European Commission’s decision not to propose legal acts based on the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative.

Zsigmond said it was "unacceptable" that while the EU "supports illegal migrants by every means possible, it ignores its own national communities". He said it was a shared responsibility to work for "a Europe for the people that creates peace and security and preserves our shared traditions and values".

 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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