Source: European Parliament
Priority question for written answer P-002630/2025
to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Rule 144
Loránt Vincze (PPE)
While the Commission has consistently replied to parliamentary questions and in its communication on the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Minority SafePack – one million signatures for diversity in Europe’[1], that the EU has no general legislative competence for the protection of national minorities, press reports[2] indicate that the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) stated, in the context of future enlargement, that ‘we are protecting minority rights within the EU and not outside of it’.
The European neighbourhood policy is grounded in shared values such as democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
- 1.While EU candidate countries must meet the Copenhagen criteria, including for the protection of minorities, could the VP/HR confirm whether these criteria apply equally to all candidate countries, including Ukraine, and indicate how the VP/HR assesses their consistent application?
- 2.Which specific European Union instruments and measures did the VP/HR reference in relation to the protection of national and linguistic minorities within the EU?
Submitted: 30.6.2025