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Romanian Parliament passes declaration on Ukraine's adoption of controversial education law
In a joint session on Wednesday, the Romanian Parliament unanimously passed a declaration on minorities rights in Ukraine following the adoption by Ukraine of a controversial education law in this country, calling for the current situation to be settled as quickly as possible.
According to the declaration, the Romanian Parliament is "watching with great concern and caution" the developments generated by the recent adoption by the Supreme Rada of Ukraine of the Law on Education, which "drastically limits the right to mother tongue education for Ukraine's ethnic Romanians, which has aroused profound concern and worries in Romania."
"Parliament is calling for a speedy settlement of the current situation by good faith action in a spirit of cooperation, through inclusive dialogue and strict compliance with European standards for the protection of national minorities, as well as the relevant multilateral and bilateral agreements to which Ukraine is a party," according to the declaration.
The Romanian Legislature is drawing attention to the fact that "the protection up to European standards of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, particularly the Romanian minority of Ukraine, which counts over 400,000 people, is a foundation of democratic construction in the spirit of European values embraced by the Ukrainian people, without which advancing towards the EU accession target set by the Ukrainian authorities would not be possible."
"The Romanian Parliament is calling on the Supreme Rada, expressing its confidence that the Supreme Council will provide, as soon as possible, a legislative framework guaranteeing the protection of the rights of citizens belonging to the national minorities in Ukraine, starting with Romanian ethnics in this country, while paying special attention to the linguistic ones, that will respect the provisions of the relevant international conventions, prioritising the provisions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, assisted by the European Commission for Democracy through Law of the Council of Europe (the Venice Commission) and the High Commissioner for National Minorities of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Part of this process, direct consultation with authorised leaders of national minorities, mainly of the ethnic Romanians in Ukraine, appears to be opportune and necessary."
The Romanian Parliament is advocating the need for Ukraine's presidential institution to get involved in a favorable settlement of the issue by resubmitting the education law to the Supreme Rada for reexamination, and it is also calling on the President and the Government of Romania to act firmly bilaterally and within the relevant international organisations to ensure adequate protection for the linguistic, cultural and religious identity of Romanian ethnics in Ukraine.
The declaration also mentions that a delegation of Romanian MPs will go to Ukraine to initiate a political dialogue with the relevant authorities in order to settle the situation against European standards.
"The Romanian Parliament is reconfirming its support for Ukraine's European journey, while being convinced that the international standards for the protection of national minorities will be respected in the process," says the declaration read out by MP Georgian Pop.