StateSec Neculaescu underscores responsibility of Ukrainian authorities to implement Venice Commission recommendations on Education Law

State Secretary with the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) Dan Neculaescu conveyed to the Ukrainian authorities, within the session of the Joint Romanian-Ukrainian Inter-governmental Committee on the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, which was held in Bucharest on Tuesday, that they are in charge of implementing the recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding the Education Law. 

According to a release of the MAE, Dan Neculaescu chaired the 7th session of this committee. During the negotiations in Bucharest, as well as during the period prior to the plenary meeting of the Joint Committee, the mandate of the Romanian delegation aimed to promoted the implementation in good faith of international norms and standards, relevant to the area of the protection of people belonging to national minorities, in view of ensuring the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of the Romanian minority residing in Ukraine and the Ukrainian minority of Romania, the MAE release mentions. 

Thus, Neculaescu underscored the responsibility of the Ukrainian authorities to implement the recommendations included in the Venice Commission opinion regarding Ukraine's Education Law. Furthermore, he referred to the necessity to provide consistency to the committee's activity and draft substantial recommendations regarding each party's commitment to ensure the promotion and protection of ethnic, cultural, educational, linguistic, religious and informational identity of the Romanian minority of Ukraine and the Ukrainian minority of Romania. 

"Despite the efforts put in, it was not possible for the session protocol text to be agreed and signed at the meeting held on 11 December 2018. The two co-chairs decided to maintain open the current session of the joint Committee and to continue the negotiations, in view of completing and signing the protocol. The Romanian State Secretary highlighted the importance of the dialogue and the exchange of information which took place within the meeting, and voiced confidence that the Ukrainian side won't implement measures leading up to the reduction of the rights of persons belonging to the Romanian minority of Ukraine," the MAE showed. 

The Romanian delegation led by State Secretary Dan Neculaescu was made up of representatives of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Ministry for Romanians Abroad, the National Education Ministry, the Culture and National Identity Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Regional Development and Public Administration Ministry, the Department for Inter-ethnic Relations, the State Secretariat for Cults. Moreover, also attending the meeting were representatives of the Ukrainians Union of Romania. 

The meeting in Bucharest took place in the context in which last year the two parties showed their political will to resume the activity of this consultation mechanism on the protection of people belonging to the Romanian national minority of Ukraine and the Ukrainian minority of Romania, respectively. 

This committee was established based on the provisions of article 13 of the Treaty regarding the neighborly and cooperation relations between Romania and Ukraine, signed on 2 June 1997. It is the main bilateral consultation framework in the area of the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities.