After today’s vote on the European Citizens’ “Minority SafePack” Initiative, the ECR Group points out that the protection of national and linguistic minorities is primarily a responsibility of the Member States. However, the European Union may play a role in supporting Member States in this endeavour. For the ECR, the EU Member States are successful examples of respectful and harmonious coexistence between different national and linguistic communities.

Speaking after the vote, Mr. Procaccini said:

“Minority languages and cultures are an important part of the European Union’s heritage. Linguistic diversity is a valuable component of Europe’s cultural wealth, that needs to be protected.

‘’We support the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative, as a request coming from more than one million EU citizens cannot be disregarded. Now, we ask the European Commission to assess each individual proposal on its own merit, taking into account the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.”