Hungarian American Coalition News, 2006 (15. évfolyam, 1. szám)
2006 / 1. szám
stipulated in the Romanian Constitution, the conditions for the registration of so-called “organizations of citizens belonging to national minorities” should be eased20. The Positions of Major Romanian Political Parties The National Liberal Party (PNL) expressed its support for the adoption of the law and called the major coalition partner to follow its position within the DA Alliance in accordance with the provisions of the Governmental Program for 2004- 2008. Mr. Emil Boc, head of the Democratic Party (PD), which supports President Traian Basescu, stated recently that it is expected that the DAHR will use any and all political weapons to successfully pass the Law on the Status of Minority Rights on the eve of EU accession. The major problem in his party’s view is that the legal framework of the draft law involves the issue of positive discrimination, which is unacceptable for a future EU country. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) qualified the draft law as “unacceptable due to provisions on cultural autonomy” and threatened action against it in the Constitutional Court. The head of the Party, Mr. Geoana, accused leading Romanian political parties of irresponsibility as the draft law was passed by the Romanian government prior to the parliamentary debate, and alleged that DAHR used the opportunity of internal coalition conflicts within the DA Alliance to move forward on this issue. Possible Scenarios /Conclusion The Law on the Status of Minorities was rejected by the Romanian Senate - an indication of the lack of sufficient political support for the draft law. Subsequently, the coalition partners of DAHR again agreed to support the draft law in the Lower House of Parliament. The draft law is being debated by commissions of the Chamber of Deputies (Legal Commission, Commission for the Human Rights and the Commission for Education). DAHR Coalition partners are currently using various legal instruments to propose a large number of amendments to the project in an attempt to postpone the final vote on the draft law. The commissions may prolong debate on the draft law, in which case the DAHR will request a plenary debate for the final vote without the adoption of the commissions’ final report on the draft law. It should be also emphasized that the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance21, established by the member states of the Council of Europe to combat racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance, recently published a report recommending that the Romanian authorities adopt the draft law on the status of national minorities without delay. It urged them to amend any provisions of this law that might infringe upon the rights of national minorities to choose their political representatives at the local level. In the preliminary assessment made public on April 3, 2006, The Honorable Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Enlargement, declared in regards to the minorities that “Romania needs to speed up efforts”. Adoption of the draft law on the status of national minorities would be the first instance of comprehensive protection of minority rights in the modern Romanian legal establishment and the first example of true cultural autonomy in the former Communist bloc. By safeguarding the future of ethnic minorities in Romania, this law will bring about a fundamental transformation of Romania’s multicultural society. Newsletter Editor: János Szekeres, Graphic Designer: Ajna Pfenninberger. We are grateful to all those who contributed articles or information to this Newsletter. “Nothing printed here is to be construed as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any legislation before the Congress of the United States ” 6 - June 2006 - Hungarian American Coalition
