Plataforma per la Llengua is now an ordinary member of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), the highest membership category. The organisation's 68th Congress, which took place between Thursday and Saturday in Husum-Hüsem, in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, also passed two resolutions: one demanding that the States approve Catalan being made an official language in the European Union and the other appealing to Spanish and European institutions to protect language immersion in Catalan schools and review the court decision that 25% of lessons should be taught in Spanish. FUEN is one of the principal protectors of national and language minorities, and the Congress had around 200 participants. For the Catalan NGO, the head of its International section, Maria de Lluc Muñoz, attended.
The first resolution, approved at the instance of Plataforma per la Llengua, complains that the lack of official status for Catalan in the European Union is unusual taking into account the importance of the language in terms of the number of speakers, economic impact and cultural importance. The text maintains that official status would be a crucial legal and political instrument to safeguard the language, and calls on EU member States to commit to voting in favour of official status for Catalan to recognise the continent's language diversity and improve citizens' rights.
The text of the second resolution deplores the fact that language immersion in Catalan schools has suffered "several judicial setbacks in recent years" and that this is "a cause for concern", because without immersion "many children from Spanish-speaking environments would not learn Catalan properly". The resolution recalls that the UN special rapporteur for minorities has already expressed his concern over decisions imposing a minimum of 25% Spanish in classrooms, and it also deplores the fact that the High Court of Catalonia refused to allow organisations supporting Catalan to take part in the judicial hearing while allowing a group that supports Spanish to be part of it. Finally, the text also deplores the fact that the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament promotes the theses of Spanish nationalists with public funds and calls on the body chaired by Roberta Metsola to guarantee its commitment to safeguarding the language rights of minorities, in line with European treaties. The resolution also calls on the Spanish State to take into account that reducing the use of Catalan in schools would mean students of Spanish-speaking origin would not learn Catalan well, and asks the Spanish judiciary to reconsider the sentence imposing 25% of Spanish in Catalan schools.
Plataforma per la Llengua, now a full member of FUEN
The 68th Congress of FUEN also approved Plataforma per la Lengua becoming an ordinary member of the network. The organisation was a support member from 2018 and was made an associate member in 2022, but it is now a full member. It will now be able to have up to six votes at the annual meeting of delegates instead of the one it has held until now. "We are taking a step forward in the internationalisation of the organisation, and from now on the defence of Catalan will be heard more loudly in Europe," said Marga Payola, International coordinator for Plataforma per la Llengua. In fact, the organisation is the only one from the Catalan-speaking territories and the only one from Spain that is a member of FUEN.
The Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) is the main protector of national minorities and indigenous language groups in Europe, and includes more than 100 organisations from 36 European states. The organisation began in Versailles in 1949 to provide different nations and minorities with a proper role after the Second World War, and it has recently coordinated initiatives such as the Minority Safepack, a Europe-wide legislative initiative to improve protection for minorities. FUEN is now the voice of national, ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities in international organisations such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations (UN), where it has consultative status. The organisation also has participatory status in the European Union and the Council of Europe.
FUEN's 68th Congress made it possible for delegates to get to know the Frisian minority in Germany and to celebrate 75 years of the organisation's history.
Around 200 representatives of European national and language minorities attended FUEN's 68th Congress. They were able to learn at first hand about the situation of the Frisian minority in North Frisia and celebrate FUEN's 75th anniversary. Figures involved included the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola; the former UN rapporteur for minorities, Fernand de Varennes; MEP Loránt Vincze, president of FUEN; and Bahne Bahnsen, vice-president of FUEN and former leader of the Friisk Foriining, the organisation protecting Frisian culture, which was this year's host.
This organisation was responsible for informing attendees about the Frisian situation, together with representatives of the North Frisian Institute associated with the University of Flensburg; the Frisian Council, an umbrella organisation for all institutions in North Frisia and Heligoland working for the Frisian language; the Ried fan de Fryske Beweging-Council of the Frisian Movement; and the Ferring Foundation, devoted to Frisian identity and cultural diversity.
In addition to the Frisian minority in Germany, the Congress also had representatives of other minorities, such as the Bretons from France, the Meskhetian Turks, the Danes of Germany, the Sorbians of Lusatia (also in Germany), the Hungarians of Romania and the Germans of Hungary.
