The European Model of National Minorities Protection in the Case of Ukraine. Romania as a Kin-State
The European Model of National Minorities Protection in the Case of Ukraine. Romania as a Kin-State

Summary/Abstract: The issue of national minorities has been, since 1991, one of the most difficult that Ukraine was confronted with. The difficulty of applying the Minsk agreements shows that the issue of the Russian minority in Ukraine is, right now, without a viable solution. The start of the Russian aggression on 24th of February 2022 is, among others, the result of unsolved identity problems. The Hungarian and the Romanian minorities were long perceived as the Russian minority, having the support of a kin-state, but the war has changed this interpretation, national minorities rallying around Kyiv objectives. The protection of national minorities in Ukraine is regulated by the Constitution, by different laws and Ukraine is part of the Council of Europe instruments in this area. The Venice Commission expressed its opinion on Ukrainian legislation in 2011 and 2017. The CoE Council of Ministers adopted a Resolution in 2020 regarding national minorities in Ukraine. The European Commission refers to this issue in its Opinion on the application of Ukraine to become an EU Member State in June 2022. Because Ukraine wants to start accession negotiations very fast, the Supreme Rada adopted in December 2022 a new law on national minorities. This law is not in line with previous recommendations addressed to Ukraine by the European bodies in this area. Romania criticized this law, having a special status as kin-state, according to the OSCE Bolzano Recommendations. Ukraine needs to adopt the European model on the protection of national minorities, as a proof that is opposing the Russian Federation perspective that neglects all the basic instruments of human rights.

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