Press release - AGDM meeting in Berlin

PRESS RELEASE

German minorities write letter to the German chancellor – asking for a strategy and plan for the future

Representatives from 13 German minorities met recently in Berlin for the 22nd meeting of the working group of the German minorities (AGDM). The working group unites all the German minorities in the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) – with more than 90 member organisations from 32 European countries the largest umbrella organisation of the autochthonous minorities in Europe.

The chairman of AGDM, Koloman Brenner (German from Hungary), came to a positive conclusion about the meeting: “Despite that some of the German minorities in Europe are in very different situations, there is a strong sense of solidarity within our group. All the German minorities have concerns about their own future. Therefore we are looking for a direct dialogue with the German government in order to consider together how we will secure the future of the German minorities in Europe and make our strengths and our importance for Germany more visible”, said Brenner. German or German-speaking minorities exist in 27 countries. Only the Roma minority is represented in more countries. The AGDM-representatives of the German minorities from Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Croatia, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Hungary, who held a parliamentary reception in the Bundeshaus building in Berlin, used the days of the meeting and drafted some strategic considerations. “We will address the German chancellor and all relevant organs”, said Brenner. “We don’t want to be misunderstood. We are very thankful for the support by the different German governments over the years. Our relation to Germany,

the German language and the German culture is the main element of our work and therefore we are very close to Germany also in our home countries, in which the people belonging to the German minorities are considered as Germans. That is why we would like to thank the minority commissioner, state secretary Dr Bergner, who made our parliamentary reception possible and who also participated”, said Brenner. In his speech at the parliamentary reception FUEN-president Hans Heinrich Hansen stressed: “The German minorities did not develop since the turn of events in 1989/1990 into a fifth column, as many states of central and eastern Europe feared. The German communities instead are respected partners and have grown to an enriching factor for their societies. For many years I myself have been the chairman of such a minority – in Denmark. We have been lucky in history. After the war we ended up west of the iron curtain and Denmark was quick – only ten years after the war – to recognise that it would not lose anything by helping the minority, but instead that effective minority protection would support the stabilisation of the country as well. I often asked myself the question what would have happened with the German minority in my country, Denmark, if we only would have been able to nurture our language and culture under very difficult circumstances over 40 years, or even if this would have been forbidden. Therefore, my dear friends from the German minorities, who have come in such a great number today: respect for your achievements.” In a meeting with parliamentary state secretary in the German Ministry of Finance, Hartmut Koschyk, who is the chairman of the Association for German Cultural Relations Abroad (VDA), the idea was developed to invite the German minorities to Berlin once a year and to establish a strategic dialogue with the different authorities, the parliamentary groups and ministries. “We are pleased that Mr Koschyk was willing to bring the discussion partners to the table. We acted on his suggestion and decided as AGDM to hold such “strategic talks” in Berlin once a year”, said Koloman Brenner. For more information: www.agdm.fuen.org