On 24th April 2014 in Tirana, Albania the Secretariat of the Project held its first activity named "European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Albania, Current state of affairs". The workshop was co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania.
Mrs. Suela Janina, General Director of Multilateral Relations at the MFA opened the meeting and provided insight into the process of the work and general state of the rights of national minorities in Albania.
The objective of the meeting was fully achieved. An inter-ministerial working group was founded under the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania, tasked to draft the new law on national minorities in Albania and to prepare documents for signature and ratification of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. The signature and ratification of the Charter is seen by the Albanian authorities as a package of reforms by the new Government to promote the rights of minorities in light of the accession to the EU. The timeframe for the work of the working group is set from May to November 2014.
The most important part of the meeting was a discussion on a draft proposed instrument of ratification, prepared by the project expert, based on the legislation already in place and the FCNM. The expert was requested by the secretariat to analyse the legal situation in Albania with regard to the regional and minority languages and the current provisions that regulate this field prior to the meeting (through the Constitution, FCNM, Law on education, Law on Culture etc…).
Thirty-five provisions from the ECRML is the minimum a country is requested to recognize through the ratification process. Currently, the Albanian legislation provides a basis for 38 provisions and in theory could ratify the Charter without extensive amendments to the current legislation.
During the discussion the secretariat noted that the priorities for ratification should be carefully discussed with the national minorities, NGOs and all relevant stakeholders. It was also noted that many countries signatories to the Charter signed the commitment and worked on the revisions of the law during the ratification process.
