On March 21 Ukraine was unanimously granted the status of an associate member of the European Federation of National Institutions for Language (EFNIL) by its General Assembly at the extraordinary meeting. The State Language Protection Commissioner of Ukraine Taras Kremin announced it upon joining the event.
"Today the front of the struggle for Ukraine is also the front of affirmation of the Ukrainian language. Therefore, it is a great honor for us to join the continental family of language institutions. After all, membership in the EFNIL will give Ukraine the opportunity to form a strategy for the legislative protection of the Ukrainian language as the future language of the EU. At this difficult time for Ukraine, the support of Europe's leading language institutions - our international partners - is very important for us", Taras Kremin said.
The president of EFNIL Sabina Kirchmeier welcomed Ukraine's accession to the EFNIL family, noting the importance of this step at a historic time for the country and Europe. She expressed hope for deepening relations between the Secretariat of the Commissioner and EFNIL member organizations in order to develop the main goals and objectives of the institution.
According to Taras Kremin, the struggle for language is also a struggle for the self-identity of the Ukrainian nation. "Therefore, the conscious switching of our fellow citizens to Ukrainian, effective protection of the information field, comprehensive development of the language is the defence of national interests, resistance to the aggressor country and the struggle for our independence," Taras Kremin said.
Speaking at the EFNIL General Assembly, which was attended by heads of national language institutions from the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, Sweden, the Republic of Slovenia, Hungary, Iceland, Germany, Great Britain, Finland, Belgium, France, Norway, Italy, France, Greece, Romania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Commissioner informed the European partners about the genocide policy pursued by the kremlin. Therefore, Moscow does not dwell on the linguocide. "Thus, in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which have just been occupied by the Russian troops, the enemies continue the policy of de-Ukrainization. Announcing the resumption of the educational process in schools, the occupiers emphasize that such subjects as "Ukrainian language", "Ukrainian literature" and" history of Ukraine" will not be studied".
EFNIL unites the national language institutions of the EU and non-EU countries. Among the main tasks are monitoring the implementation of language legislation, protection of state languages, collection of materials on language policy in the EU, encouraging the study of official European languages for linguistic and cultural diversity in the EU. Since his appointment, the Commissioner Taras Kremin has met with many heads of European language institutions, participated in EFNIL plenary sessions and promoted positive experiences in the implementation of European language legislation in Ukraine.