Red Tape Hot Box on Protecting the smaller sectors of society
People tend to identify themselves more with their local and regional communities rather than with the often abstract big state. Not only does this not undermine the state's position, but the state can also greatly benefit from its citizens' activity in the local field. So it's in the best interest of the state to support its ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities and their initiatives.
This has been the case in the French region of Bretagne, in Catalunya in Spain, as well as in Belgium where the renaissance of Flemish nationalism has taken place in the EU's lifetime.
So while the general tendency in Europe in recent years has been to provide the best possible conditions for minorities to use their full potential for the benefit of the state, the exact opposite is taking place in Poland.
Not long ago an Ethnic Minorities Bill (Ustawa o Mniejszościach Narodowych i Etnicznych), was passed by the Sejm. It doesn't allow local governments to introduce a second language in local institutions, even in those 'gminy' (communes) inhabited by a significant number of ethnic or other minorities. Although Poland is one of the most ethnically homogenous countries in Europe, there are voivodeships with a sizeable ethnic minority population, for example Opolskie (German minority) or Podlaskie (Belarussians). We shouldn't forget those who consider themselves Silesians (the largest minority in Poland, according to the last population census) or the Kaszubi, who speak a totally different language and whose population could be a few hundred thousand. The fact that Poland, for the first time in its history, is pretty much an ethnically homogenous state has many advantages, but it shouldn't imply depriving the few remaining minorities of their rights.
What is particularly surprising is that this bill wasn't proposed by a xenophobic, nationalistic party of EU opponents, but by a liberal, pro-European party that will probably win the next election, whenever it is held. Not to mention the fact that it has been passed by a Sejm dominated by a leftist, which should mean a tolerant and pro-equality, coalition.
This has been the case in the French region of Bretagne, in Catalunya in Spain, as well as in Belgium where the renaissance of Flemish nationalism has taken place in the EU's lifetime.
So while the general tendency in Europe in recent years has been to provide the best possible conditions for minorities to use their full potential for the benefit of the state, the exact opposite is taking place in Poland.
Not long ago an Ethnic Minorities Bill (Ustawa o Mniejszościach Narodowych i Etnicznych), was passed by the Sejm. It doesn't allow local governments to introduce a second language in local institutions, even in those 'gminy' (communes) inhabited by a significant number of ethnic or other minorities. Although Poland is one of the most ethnically homogenous countries in Europe, there are voivodeships with a sizeable ethnic minority population, for example Opolskie (German minority) or Podlaskie (Belarussians). We shouldn't forget those who consider themselves Silesians (the largest minority in Poland, according to the last population census) or the Kaszubi, who speak a totally different language and whose population could be a few hundred thousand. The fact that Poland, for the first time in its history, is pretty much an ethnically homogenous state has many advantages, but it shouldn't imply depriving the few remaining minorities of their rights.
What is particularly surprising is that this bill wasn't proposed by a xenophobic, nationalistic party of EU opponents, but by a liberal, pro-European party that will probably win the next election, whenever it is held. Not to mention the fact that it has been passed by a Sejm dominated by a leftist, which should mean a tolerant and pro-equality, coalition.
