Subject: Rights for the German-Austrian minorities in Slovenia
Official Journal No C305 p. 121, 1996-10-15
Notice number 96/C305/174
Celex number 996E1773
Celex sector 9 - Parliamentary questions
Authoring Inst. European Parliament
Publication ref. OFFICIAL JOURNAL NO. C 305, 15/10/1996 P. 0121
Written question No E-1773/96 by Erich Schreiner (NI) to the
Commission (3 July 1996)
QUESTION
The European Union is about to conclude a Europe Agreement with
Slovenia. This agreement is also supposed to guarantee protection for
minorities in Slovenia. Whilst the Slovenian constitution recognizes
the Italian and Hungarian ethnic groups and, to a limited extent, the
Gypsy and Sinti groups as well, it does not recognize the German-
Austrian minority of some 6 000 to 7 000 people, most of whom settled
in the towns of Marburg, Cilli and Pettau in Lower Styria, after
surviving expulsion and the death camps in 1945/46. The Ljubljana
Government is still having difficulties according minority status to
this German-Austrian section of the population although it is enjoyed
as a matter of course by the Slovenian minority in Carinthia. What
measures does the Commission intent to take to help the German-
Austrian minority in Slovenia obtain the recognition it is due as an
ethnic minority?
ANSWER
Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission
(26 July 1996)
The Commission would point to a 1993 evaluation by the Council of
Europe, which found that Slovenia did respect the rights of minorities.
The Commission takes the same view and believes that minorities in the
country are protected by the constitution.
