Minister Fajon meets with Slovenian minority in Austria

The forthcoming 70th anniversary of the Austrian State Treaty, Article 7 of which establishes the rights of the Slovenian minority in the Austrian federal states of Carinthia and Styria and whose provisions have only been partially implemented 70 years later, was highlighted as an opportunity to step up activities in support of the Slovenian minority’s efforts to fully implement its rights. “We agreed with the representatives of the Slovenian minority in Austria that it is essential to insist on respect for Article 7 of the Austrian State Treaty, and we remain committed to the petition which the minority jointly submitted to the European Parliament a year ago,” said Minister Fajon after the meeting.

The minority representatives outlined their activities and efforts towards achieving a systematic regulation of their minority rights on the basis of Article 7 of the Austrian State Treaty. In this context, they highlighted issues and measures related to ensuring adequate quality and accessibility of bilingual education at all levels, including pre-school education, as crucial for the continued existence of the Slovenian minority in Austria.

They stressed the importance of implementing the right to use the Slovenian language in courts and administrative offices and of adopting an appropriate policy for the recruitment of bilingual staff. This would open up more employment opportunities for young minority members in their settlement area and increase interest in learning the Slovenian language at a higher level.

Minister Fajon assured the participants of her increased support for their efforts to find a long-term solution and to ensure that the rights of the Slovenian minority in Austria are fully respected. Slovenia will continue to protect its minority in the dialogue with official representatives of Austria and will try to speed up the resolution of priority issues. In doing so, it will continue to build on the demands that the minority unanimously identified as priorities in its “Petition to Safeguard Minority Rights in Austria and Uphold the Rule of Law”, which was also discussed in the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions.