EU asks Ukraine to submit draft of the 'language' law for final review by Venice Commission
Before the second reading of the drafted law “ensuring a functioning Ukrainian language as the state language” Ukraine must coordinate with all interested parties and obtain an assessment of the document by the Venice Commission, stated the EU’s representatives as quoted by Evropeiska Pravda.
The official position of the EU is that the future law must comply with international norms and Ukraine’s responsibilities. In particular, it must follow the European Charter regarding regional or minority languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
“We recommend submitting a bill to the Venice Commission for the final review (compliance with European standards),” the EU representatives noted. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada adopted the first reading on the bill regarding the national language on October 4th.
Earlier, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijarto accused Ukraine of trying to “reduce the ethnic composition of Zakarpattia’s Hungarians.”