On December 24, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft law "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine in Connection with the Update of the Official Translation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages."
This was announced by the government representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk.
The document proposes replacing the words “European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages” with the words “European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.” It also proposes updating the list of languages that are under special protection in Ukraine, provided by the charter.
“[The bill] provides that in Ukraine the provisions of the charter will apply to the following languages: Bulgarian, Gagauz, Crimean Tatar, Modern Greek, German, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech and Hebrew,” Taras Melnychuk noted.
So, if the document is adopted, Belarusian and Russian will be removed from this list. They have been on the list since the charter was ratified in Ukraine in 2003. Now the relevant draft law will be considered by the Verkhovna Rada.
- The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is an international treaty adopted by the Council of Europe in 1992. The ratification of the charter in Ukraine has established its obligation to protect national and ethnic minorities before the international community. Some citizens believe that it is important to maintain a balance between protecting minorities and preserving the status of Ukrainian as the state language.