Hungarian Minority in Romania: Minority Safepack Initiative Sparks Debate
The Minority Safepack Initiative is being debated in the plenary session in Strasbourg. Csaba Sógor MEP has stated that if the pack happens to fall outside the scope of the EU, as the European Commission says is the case, it would mean that Europe fails to listen to 40 million of its citizens.
Below is an article published by The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania:
Csaba Sógor on the Minority Safepack initiative at the EP plenary in Strasbourg. “If the proposed citizens' initiative falls outside the competences of the European Union, it means that Europe does not listen to over 40 million of its citizens”, pointed out Csaba Sógor during the debate organised regarding the Minority SafePack initiative on Monday [14 July 2014] at the Strasbourg plenary session of the European Parliament.
The RMDSZ MEP addressed the issue during a one-minute speech, saying: “The legal concept of the citizens' initiative was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty so that citizens can be directly involved in the shaping European policies. However, it is very difficult to consider it a success when in many cases the Commission's interpretation of its area of competence is very narrow. One of Europe's most important values is its diversity. This is stipulated in the basic treaties. Yet, the European Institutions have no power to protect this diversity”, pointed out the MEP.
Csaba Sógor also mentioned that Europeans often criticize the EU for making too many regulations while not getting involved in the really important matters. “As an elected representative of the Hungarians in Romania it is my duty to convey the message of my community: we value the European Union, and support the solidarity between member states, regions and nationalities, but we also expect Europe to lend an ear to the problems of autochthonous national minorities and to try to find a solution to them”, concluded the MEP.
