The Hungarian National Council of Serbia and Sámi Youth met the Intergroup

Mr Tamás Korhecz and Ms Katinka Beretka from the Hungarian National Council in Serbia were the guests of the meeting of the Minority Intergroup. They emphasised the importance of having the Copenhagen criteria, set to ensure national minority rights, fully implemented before Serbia’s accession to the EU. Mr Korhecz also spoke about the current property restitution law which has caused controversy over the issue of collective guilt, a notion condemned by Intergroup MEPs.

In addition, Sáminuorra, the Sámi Youth organisation, were in Strasbourg for the Intergroup meeting and to meet MEPs. They spoke about current problems such as the lack of Sámi-medium education, lack of Sámi oriented media and ongoing threats to their traditional way of life. They also met with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Tomas Hammerberg, the ECRML and FCNM Secretariats, and will be meeting the Swedish Minister for Integration.