Ukraine has been admitted to the Federation of National Language Institutions of the EU

The General Assembly of the European Federation of National Institutions of Language (EFNIL) unanimously decided to grant Ukraine the status of an associate member of the Assembly. This was announced by the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Taras Kremin, on his Facebook page.

Taras Kremin stressed: «Today, the front of the struggle for Ukraine is also the front of the establishment of the Ukrainian language. Therefore, it is a great honour for us to join the continental family of language institutions. After all, membership in EFNIL will give Ukraine the opportunity to formulate a strategy for the legislative protection of the Ukrainian language as the future language of the EU. At this difficult time for Ukraine, the support of Europe’s leading language institutions, our international partners, is very important to us».

According to Taras Kremin, the struggle for language is also a struggle for the self-identity of the Ukrainian nation.

Taras Kremin said: «Therefore, the conscious transition of our citizens to the Ukrainian language, effective protection of the information field, comprehensive development of the language is the protection of national interests, resistance to the aggressor country and the struggle for our independence».

The EFNIL General Assembly was attended by heads of national language institutions of the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, Sweden, the Republic of Slovenia, Hungary, Iceland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland, Belgium, Norway, Italy, France, Greece, Romania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

During the meeting, the representative also informed European partners about the genocide policy pursued by the Kremlin:

«In Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which have just been occupied by Russian troops, the enemies continue the policy of de-Ukrainization. Announcing the resumption of the educational process in schools, the occupiers emphasize that such subjects as “Ukrainian language”, “Ukrainian literature” and “History of Ukraine” will not be studied».

EFNIL brings together the national language institutions of the EU member states. The tasks of the General Assembly are to monitor the implementation of language legislation, protect state languages, collect materials on language policy in the EU, and encourage the study of official European languages for linguistic and cultural diversity in the EU.

We would like to remind you that earlier in Ukraine, bookstores called to stop sale of books from the russian federation.