With 84 member organisations in 32 European
countries FUEN is the largest umbrella organisation of the autochthonous minorities in Europe. FUEN was established in Versailles in 1949 and will
celebrate its anniversary in Brussels from 29
September till 2 October. The congress will take place in the building of the Committee of the
Regions, in the European Parliament and in the
Conrad congress hotel.

According to FUEN-president Hans Heinrich
Hansen, who is a German from Denmark, the issue of the minorities in Europe is highly topical and politically relevant. “The recent dispute about the Slovakian Language Act, leading to considerable bilateral tensions between Hungary and Slovakia, is striking evidence that minority issues are European topics that must be taken seriously”, says Hansen. Unfortunately minority issues are on the agenda of politicians or in the media first when it is already too late for amicable settlement.

The FUEN-Congress with its 200 expected guests will promote the European minorities and their
significance within a multifaceted Europe.
“Unfortunately the knowledge of minorities and their contribution to cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe is very limited. Only few politicians have due attention for the concerns and needs of their
minorities. Unfortunately minorities and with them their cultural and linguistic diversity are silently dying out. If we were endangered animals, certainly many famous and influential people would support our
cause – unfortunately the often endangered small
regional and minority languages are ignored. We need a fundamental change of policy in Europe, to one that takes the often quoted “cultural diversity” really seriously”, says Hans Heinrich Hansen, who points out that each seventh European or around 100 million people are belonging to a European minority.

“People should not be afraid of us, we do not raise territorial claims and do not want to destabilise the state in which we live. We live in European regions and we want these regions to be prosperous. People should not regard us as a danger, but rather as a potential for the development of these regions”, according to Hans Heinrich Hansen. FUEN is happy that it found an EU partner with the Committee of the Regions to work together for the European
minorities.

The official jubilee celebrations of FUEN will take place in the building of the Committee of the Regions on 1 October. The guests will be welcomed by the secretary-general of the Committee of the Regions, Gerhard Stahl. The celebration speech will be held by EU-commissioner for multilingualism Leonard Orban.

During the congress also a meeting in the European Parliament will take place. The European Dialogue Forum, which was established last year in
cooperation between the Parliament and FUEN, will meet for a first session after the elections. The forum will hold a meeting in the Parliament in the presence of the guests of the congress. “We hope for a new start after the elections and fresh brio in our cooperation with the European Parliament. For us the formalised cooperation with the Parliament is very important – we want to represent our themes on an equal level”, Hans Heinrich Hansen explains.