In the picture - Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group, Inese Vaidere MEP, Jerzy Buzek MEP and Bernd Posselt MEP
Latvia is to hold a referendum, initiated by a group of non-citizens, on 18 February 2012 in which Latvians have to decide if Russian should become a second official language in Latvia.
An EPP Group Hearing was organised by Inese Vaidere MEP, with a keynote speech by Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group, and counted the participation of Jerzy Buzek MEP, former President of the European Parliament.
Inese Vaidere, who opened the event, stated: “Preservation and development of a national identity, particularly in the era of globalisation, are essential for European nations. Language is one of the key elements of this identity. If Russian was given the privilege of the status of an official language in Latvia, where – after half a century of Soviet occupation and intensive Russification policy - its native Latvians count only 60% of the population, and it is still very difficult to get a job without knowledge of the Russian language - it would effectively mean the splitting of people of different ethnicity and at the same time the beginning of an elimination of the Latvian language and culture. It is only possible to create a united society of Latvia on the basis of the Latvian language.”
EPP Group Chairman Joseph Daul highlighted the political and social reality of today’s Latvia. “A State is not just about rights. It is also about duties. Citizens living within the same national community have the duty to learn the language of their country. Latvia is the only place in the world where the Latvian language and culture can survive and develop. The language of Latvia is Latvian. As for the referendum, it is not about discrimination. On the contrary, it is an invitation to form an identity. Nobody is asking the Russian minority to turn its back on its cultural identity. Just as the Alsacians contributed to the history of their country, France, Russians in Latvia have participated and will keep participating to the history of their country, Latvia.”
“Latvia fulfills the European rules in regard to its Russian-speaking minorities. In this respect, Latvia can be regarded as a good example for other countries. On the other hand, the Russian-speaking minority does not comply with the criteria and the definition of an official regional or minority language laid out in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The presence of Russian immigrants in Latvia is a direct consequence of political and economic motives as well as of migration flows over the last decades”, concluded Jerzy Buzek MEP, former President of the European Parliament.