EU Commission responds to the parliamentary question on the imposition of shift education in Xanthi Turkish Minority Secondary School and High School
The European Union (EU) Commission responded to the written parliamentary question entitled "Double-shift education in Western Thrace" submitted by European Parliament (EP) MEPs François Alfonsi (France, Greens/EFA), Loránt Vincze (Romania, EPP), Herbert Dorfmann (Italy, EPP) and Yana Toom (Estonia, Renew) on 14 November 2023.
In the response submitted on 7 February 2024 by Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, Training and Youth on behalf of the EU Commission, it is stated that under Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, Member States are fully responsible for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity.
As there is no common legal framework at EU level granting a general right to mother tongue education in schools in the Member States, the choice of the language of instruction in a particular region is a matter for the Member States, Ivanova said, adding that the EU Commission has no competence regarding the recognition of minorities or the use of minority languages, as these are the competence of each Member State and therefore it is the responsibility of the Member States to ensure that the fundamental rights of minorities are respected in accordance with international agreements and domestic legislation.
Ivanova pointed out that the EU Commission encourages Member States to make use of EU financial instruments in the areas of early childhood education, to reduce early school leaving and to invest in education, skills and lifelong learning, noting that EU Cohesion Policy funds can be used in this direction and that under the regional programme "Eastern Macedonia and Thrace 2021-2027" €29.75 million will be invested in the creation and improvement of educational infrastructure.
In the parliamentary question submitted with the initiative of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) with the joint signature of four MEPs, it was underlined that the Turkish Minority Secondary School and High School in Xanthi has been providing shift education for many years due to the lack of sufficient classrooms, but the students and parents oppose shift education and protests were organised between 18 and 28 September 2023 demanding the end of shift education and a new school building, but no response was received from the competent authorities.
In their parliamentary question, Alfonsi, Vincze, Dorfmann and Toom asked how the EU Commission can protect the rights of EU citizens belonging to a national minority, ensure equal access to quality education in this part of Greece and preserve linguistic and cultural diversity.
The four MEPs also asked what steps the EU Commission could take to protect members of the autochthonous Turkish community whose rights guaranteed by international treaties are not respected and whose existence and identity are under threat.
