With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter for Fundamental Rights, it would seem that minorities in Europe could now expect the EU institutions to do more in terms of protecting their rights. Within the European Parliament, an increasing number of MEPs, are calling on the European Commission to do more in this field.

On 1 December, Greens-European Free Alliance, Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka urged the European Commission to use the legal changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty to further protect the rights of linguistic minorities in the EU.

She explicitly called on the EU executive to “name and shame” Member States that fail to adequately protect minority languages. She noted that the new Treaty states that the Union “is founded on the values of respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.” Mrs Zdanoka therefore asked the Commission to ensure that anyone “who acts against the rights of persons belonging to minorities (including linguistic rights) acts against the core values of the EU,” calling for “a more focused statement” from the Commission in this respect.

It will be up to the new European Commission, expected to start work on 1 February, - and the new Commissioner for justice and fundamental rights, Viviane Reding - to see whether it plans to further address the issue of minorities’ rights in future communications.