Despite progress made, further measures are needed by Denmark,  to promote German as a minority language covered by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML), also outside of South Jutland/North Schleswig region according to a report published today. 

The Charter, which entered into force in Denmark in 2001, applies only to the German language in Denmark. The current report of the Committee of Experts evaluates progress on the “recommendations for immediate action” made in its 2023 evaluation report.

The Committee of Experts welcomes that the Contact Committee for the German minority has been changed to a full-fledged parliamentary committee and believes that it can provide for a structured and more effective consultation platform between the Danish Government, the Parliament and the German speaking minority.

The Committee of Experts also commends the regular support, especially the important financial assistance to the speakers of German, including significant allocations for the Campus Apenrade project. It regrets, however, that this support continues to be targeted to the Danish-German border region and not in the whole territory of Denmark.

Aiming at implementing this specific recommendation for immediate action, the Committee of Experts calls on Denmark to develop, in co-operation with the speakers, a new common objective in the subject of German that incorporates the teaching of German as a minority language with a focus on the history and culture of the German national minority. In addition, the Committee of Experts believes that the history and culture of national minorities could be integrated in the subject of History.

Moreover, the Committee of Experts recalls that in the framework of awareness raising, media should be encouraged, without prejudice to their independence, to pay more attention to minority languages as integral parts of Denmark’s history and culture. Measures, such as airtime dedicated to the German minority in public radio or television and support newspaper media for similar initiatives/coverage to raise awareness of the German as a minority language could be envisaged.