Central European Initiative’s (CEI) minority initiative
The Central European Initiative (CEI) aims to support the European integration efforts of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. Due to its regional character it adopted the Instrument for the Protection of Minority Rights in 1994, joining the codification processes for the protection of minorities in the framework of the OSCE and the Council of Europe. The document was adopted as a legally non-binding political declaration which recognises the free choice of identity of minorities, minority language rights, the rights of minorities to participate in public life and the rights of minorities to maintain cross-border contacts. The specific problems of the Roma are dealt with in a separate article of the document (Article 7).