The Minority SafePack European Citizen’s Initiative calls upon the EU to improve the protection of persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities and strengthen cultural and linguistic diversity in the Union.

The Minority SafePack European Citizen’s Initiative was launched by the Federal Union of European Nationalities, the largest umbrella organisation for autochthonous minorities on the continent. For success of this endeavour, till the 2nd of April 2018, the petition needs to be signed by at least one million European Citizens. This way the European Union will be constrained to care about adopting measures for the protection of minorities. More information about the initiative is available on the www.minority-safepack.eu website, in several languages. The petition campaign can also be signed online, on this website.

We call upon the EU to adopt a set of legal acts to improve the protection of persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities and strengthen cultural and linguistic diversity in the Union. It shall include policy actions in the areas of regional and minority languages, education and culture, regional policy, participation, equality, audiovisual and other media content, and also regional (state) support. (Main objectives of the Minority SafePack)

The Presidium of the Reformed Church in Hungary in its pubic appeal on the 14th February called upon its congregations and encourages European partner churches to join this initiative. The RCH is aware of the challenges the Hungarian Reformed Communities living beyond the border, are facing day by day, that is why it finds highly important to support the cause of this initiative. 

The Church Leadeship of the Reformed Church District in Transylvania has also issued an open letter inviting its international partners for considering to support  this initiative, which is a hope of over 50 million European citizens belonging to national minority or language group including the Reformed Church in Romania

“The fact that, for the past 500 years, we could have church services held in our native tongues is one of the greatest achievements of the Reformation. Sadly, Europe as a whole does not follow this good example. Use of the mother tongue is still not a given in all areas of life for all the minority communities in Europe. It is still not guaranteed in all of Europe in education, healthcare, media, administration and the justice system. The situation is even worse in Eastern Europe, where we can witness discrimination on any given day, where minority rights are far too often infringed upon. The concept of reformation in this predicament is as valid as ever, crucial to the mindset that must govern the process of amending laymen laws.”

Open Letter of the Reformed Church District in Transylvania

Church leaders of the Hungarian Reformed Church ask the members of their European partner churches to consider signing the petition and show kindness and compassion towards minorites including the Transylvanian fellow Christians in order that their mother tongue may be kept alive for a long time to come, so that their schools, churches and communities, through God’s grace, may persist.

Read an article with Rev Béla Kató, Bishop of the Reformed Church District in Transylvania on the Minority SafePack Intiative here.

Ecumenical Office