Szili: EU should have the power to protect indigenous minority rights

Protecting the rights of indigenous minorities should be brought under the scope of the European Union, the prime ministerial commissioner in charge of minority protection and autonomy told a conference on Thursday. Katalin Szili, addressing a Carpathian Basin rights conference, insisted the European Union was "loath" to deal with the issue. She said the EU addressed the state's attitude towards minorities up to the point that "a country passes the EU recruitment exam" but then failed to follow up. The EU does not bother to deal with the issue of autonomy, saying the matter is up to member states, she said. Szili outlined the tasks related to protecting indigenous minorities. First and foremost, the issue of minorities and autonomy should be kept on the agenda of international forums, she said. Whenever the law is broken, these breaches must be highlighted, she added.