European Parliament decisions concerning minorities
Although the (co-)legislative role of the European Parliament (EP) has steadily increased, its work is still largely characterised by political resolutions. Before 1989 the European Parliament proposed a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of minority languages and cultures. The first parliamentary resolution on a Community Charter of Regional Languages and Cultures and on a Charter of Rights of Ethnic Minorities was adopted in 1981 on the basis of Gaetano Arfé’s report. This, as well as the new EP resolution of 1983, called on the European Commission and the Member States to support regional and minority languages and cultures. The EP’s 1987 resolution on the promotion of linguistic and cultural minorities already asks Member States to ensure specific rights. Following the adoption of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in the Council of Europe, EP resolutions no longer call for the adoption of a specific charter for the protection of minorities but for supporting minority languages and language use in general (1994, Killilea report; 2003, Ebner report). In 2018 the EP adopted a comprehensive resolution on the minimum standard of protection for minorities living in the EU also in the light of the experience of the Eastern enlargement. In addition to language and education rights it also stresses the need to combat hate speech and discrimination. The EP also regularly mentions minorities in its resolutions on human rights and racism. There is a separate group of EP resolutions on the situation of specific minorities living in non-EU countries.