05/12/2024 President
Addressing the Interparliamentary Conference on Cultural Heritage and the Identity of National Communities in Budapest, the PACE President today recalled the importance of the Council of Europe mechanisms and legal instruments in terms of protection and promotion of national minorities and regional or minority languages, that are the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. These instruments, he stressed, "provide a widely recognised normative scheme in terms of minority protection".
The President underlined that “the protection of national minorities and their languages is not only a matter of justice but also an imperative for the preservation of our cultural identity and social cohesion. In an increasingly multicultural world, safeguarding diversity is the foundation for a peaceful and just future”.
The President of the PACE was participating as a keynote speaker in this Conference, organised by the Hungarian Parliament at the Hungarian National Assembly, in the context of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe and of the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union.
During his stay in Budapest, the President also met with László Köver, Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, with Levente Magyar, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade as well as with Zsolt Németh, Head of the Hungarian parliamentary delegation to the PACE, with whom he discussed current political issues and the relevance of international mechanisms in terms of minority protection.
Mr Rousopoulos also paid a visit to the European Youth Center in Budapest, where he held an exchange of views with representatives of the Youth Sector on current challenges and opportunities for youth participation in the Council of Europe context and the work of the Youth Department.
