Yesterday, on 20 December 2021, the verification of the signatures of the European Citizens' Initiative for the Equality of the Regions and the Sustainability of Regional Cultures was completed. The organizers have been informed by the Hungarian Elections Committee that the Decision, according to which 826,826 of the 901,758 signatures are valid, with the certification included within, has come into force. Two days prior, reports on the number of valid signatures were received from Portugal and Cyprus as well, and with this, the table of signatures from all 27 EU Member States, which is part of this notice, is complete.

At EU level, the total number of valid signatures is 1 266 682, but we should not neglect the fact that that we have collected a total of 1 418 659 signatures. The proportion of invalid signatures relative to the number of signatures collected is 10.73 percent on average.

When we registered the citizens' initiative, we spoke of a new theater of battle opening up should it become successful. This has now come to pass. The people of the National Regions have now been given new means to boost the economy of their homeland while preserving its regional identity. But the European Union's cohesion policy too can be updated in order to achieve the objective set out in the Treaties, without gaps in the legislation or prejudice to the EU's fundamental values: “In order to promote its overall harmonious development, the EU shall adjust and pursue its activities in a way that lead to the strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion.”

The Press Service of the Szekler National Council
Sepsiszentgyörgy, December 21, 2021

Budapest, 2021.01.08.

Las olas del regionalismo
En Europa se han producido varias fases de movimientos regionales de autonomía o secesión en nombre de la autodeterminación. La movilización regional está en el centro de la disolución de Estados plurinacionales (por ejemplo, la Unión Soviética o Yugoslavia); de la federalización de otros (por ejemplo, Bélgica por el movimiento flamenco); o de la creación de regionalismos asimétricos en otros lugares (por ejemplo, las cinco regiones con estatuto especial de Italia). Si consideramos los movimientos de los años ochenta como la primera oleada de regionalismo (como hizo, por ejemplo, Rudolf Joó en su influyente obra "Ethnicity and Regionalism in Western-Europe"), surgió una segunda oleada tras las transiciones políticas de Europa central y oriental. Con esta expansión geográfica, comenzó a desarrollarse un regionalismo de "varias velocidades". Mientras que las comunidades situadas detrás del antiguo telón de acero suelen luchar por un mayor reconocimiento o por un mayor autogobierno a través de acuerdos de autonomía, otros movimientos -principalmente de Europa occidental (por ejemplo, Cataluña, Flandes, Escocia)- se transformaron con el tiempo en movimientos independentistas.

La Comisión Europea ha formulado una serie de preguntas para su conferencia interactiva programada para el 28 de abril. Izsák Balázs, representante del comité ciudadano de la Iniciativa Ciudadana Europea para las Regiones Nacionales, ha dado las respuestas que detallamos a continuación.

Decision 3/2020(II.25.) OGY of the National Assembly
on the European Citizens' Initiative "Cohesion Policy on the Equality of Regions and the Sustainability of Regional Cultures"

From: Oana Maria Brâncoveanu - Public Relations and Communication Directorate
To: Mr. Balázs Izsák, President of the Szekler National Council

Mr. President,

With regards to your letter, registered as number 16/20.06.7014 we inform you that we reserve our position expressed in our letter from May.

Answer to the government's letter
To Prime Minister Victor Ponta
Esteemed Prime Minister

On this April the 14th this year, as representative of the citizens’ committee which launched the citizens’ initiative titled “Cohesion Policy for the Equality of Regions and the Sustainability of Regional Cultures”, I’ve requested you to withdraw Romania’s application to intervene in case number T-529/13 of the General Court of the European Union. In Your letter, dated August the 1st You rejected our request, with the claim that the purpose of the intervention is “preventing the extension of EU competence through judrisdictional means to areas that fall under the sovereignty of the Member States, such as the protection of the rights of national minorities”.

SZNT Welcomes Covasna Joining Suit Against European Commission

A recent decision by Romania's Covasna (Kovaszna) county to join the Szekler National Council (SZNT) in its suit against the European Commission is "positive feedback", David Sobor, the attorney representing SZNT, told MTI last week.

The Covasna decision indicates that municipalities in the county have realised the importance of SZNT's initiative aimed at achieving increased European focus to ethnic, cultural, religious, or lingustic minorities, the attorney said.

To: Balázs-Árpád Izsák, Attila Dabis
Subiect: Your request for registration of a proposed citizens' initiative
Title: of proposed citizens' initiative: "Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures"
Date: of request for registration: 18/06/2013 European Commission
The Secretary General
Brussels, 25.7.2013
C(2013) 4975 final

Dear organisers,

I refer to the request for registration of 18 June 2013 of a proposed citizens' initiative entitled "Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures".

This morning the initiative was supplied to the European Commission, using the online possibility offered by the Commission.

The Commission confirmed this through an email sent to Mr. Balázs Izsák, the representative of the citizens' committee. They also communicated, that the initiative will be examined and at least on the 18th of August the initiators will receive an official answer, whether the initiative complies with the formal conditions and therefore will be registered.