News about the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
ECRML & Germany: Protection of Danish, North Frisian and Low German extended
On 6 January 2021, Germany notified the Council of Europe that it has accepted additional Part III undertakings under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages with regard to Danish, North Frisian and Low German in the Land Schleswig-Holstein and covering administrative documents,...
Protection of Manx Gaelic under the ECRML extended
On 23 December 2020, the United Kingdom notified the Council of Europe that it will apply Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages to the Manx Gaelic language in respect of the territory of the Isle of Man, in accordance with the decision taken by the Isle of Man...
The Committee of Ministers takes note of 3 new mid-term reports
The Committee of Ministers has taken note of the progress made by Denmark, Finland and Hungary in terms of implementing the Recommendations for Immediate Action contained in the preceding Evaluation Report on each respective country. The Evaluation Reports of the three states concerned may be...
Armenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Sweden: CM recommends protecting and promoting minority languages
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has today published sets of recommendations on the protection and promotion of minority languages in Armenia, Montenegro, Sweden and Croatia. The recommendations are based on the respective country evaluation reports by the Committee of Experts under...
Committee publishes 3 new mid-term reports
The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has just published three new reports on the implementation of the Recommendations for Immediate Action contained in the preceding Evaluation Report on their country. The three states concerned are Denmark, Finland...
Celebrating the European Day of Languages 2020
The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (COMEX) and the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD) join all Europeans in celebrating this remarkable European Day of Languages, mindful of the difficult times in which we are currently living. Across...
Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
COMEX publishes 3 new evaluation reports
The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has just published three new reports on the application of the Charter in Armenia, Montenegro and Sweden. Prepared by a committee of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the Charter, the reports...
CM adopts recommendations on promoting regional and minority languages in the Netherlands and Slovenia
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has today adopted recommendations to the Netherlands and to Slovenia, based on the evaluation reports by the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In the Netherlands, the Charter applies to Frisian,...
Experts report “considerable progress” on regional and minority languages in the UK
The Committee of Experts on the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages (ECRML) has reported considerable progress in the United Kingdom’s implementation of the charter. In its latest report on the UK, the committee noted that institutions and many public services in Wales and...
COMEX statement on RMLs in online education in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
Language and interpersonal contacts are key requirements for full participation in society. They were challenged by the COVID-19 outbreak when severe restrictions were imposed for the safety and health of millions of European citizens. One of the measures taken at governmental level was the...
COMEX expresses concern over lack of RML communication during health crisis
The Chair of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Vesna Crnić-Grotić, has expressed concern, in an interview at the end of April, about the widespread absence of regional or minority languages from official information and communication about...
Chair of the Committee of Experts calls for a renewed commitment to protect minority rights in Europe
On 29 June, the Chair of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Vesna Crnić-Grotić, participated at the 8th Meeting of the Heads of the Monitoring and Advisory Bodies of the Council of Europe with the Secretary General. She reiterated that the Charter...
Communication in RMLs of utmost importance in global medical crises
"Most countries in the world, including the Member States of the Council of Europe, are facing an unprecedented pandemic, the so-called coronavirus, or COVID-19. For a few weeks now, governments have been introducing, gradually and at different paces, a wide range of measures, ranging from basic...
Work continues remotely
Plenary postponed
The ECRML Secretariat wishes to inform you that the 65th plenary session of the Committee of Experts (COMEX), scheduled to be held this week, has been postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak but that the Secretariat's work and the COMEX work will continue remotely as long as is deemed appropriate.
ECRML & FCNM on Minority Identity panel
The Chair of the ECRML, Ms Vesna Crnic-Grotic, together with Ms Antonija Petričušić from the Advisory Committee of the FCNM, participated in a meeting entitled "The meaning of language in the preservation of minority identity" in Daruvar, Croatia, on 7 February. The event was organised by the...
Experts visit Montenegro
Experts have just visited Montenegro in the framework of the 5th monitoring cycle of the country. They visited Podgorica, Tivat and Bar from 11-13 December, meeting with speakers of minority and regional languages covered by the Charter. They also held meetings with the state authorities on the...
CM adopts Recommendation on Spain
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has published a new report on the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Spain. Prepared by a Committee of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the Charter, the report acknowledges the...
Committee of Ministers adopts Recommendation for Switzerland
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has published a new report on the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Switzerland. Prepared by a Committee of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the Charter, the report acknowledges the...
Hot off the press: New Media, New technologies & the Charter
The Committee of Experts has just published a new report on "New technologies, new social media and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages". To read the report, please click here.
Meeting with OHCHR
On 13 November 2019, the Head of the Secretariat met with representatives of the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner for an exchange. Apart from providing general information on the Charter, particular emphasis was placed on the reform process of the monitoring mechanism,...
Text of the Charter
