Today, at the invitation of the Latvian Language Agency, the State Language Protection Commissioner Taras Kremin took part in the international seminar "Language consultations: traditions and current trends", dedicated to the European Day of Languages.

“The most important awareness for the majority of Ukrainians during the 579 days of the war is that the front of the struggle for Ukraine is the front of the establishment of the Ukrainian language. In the face of a full-scale war, the state language became one of the key lines of defense. The Ukrainian language is a European language! Therefore, it is very important for us to be among the participants of this event today”, Taras Kremin stressed.

The Commissioner informed European colleagues about tectonic shifts in matters of state language policy. "The language law, which was adopted in 2019, survived seven waves of implementation and became one of the main ones in the recent history of Ukraine. We continue to protect the rights of Ukrainian citizens to receive information and services in the spheres of public life in the state language, expand the network of free language courses in Ukraine and abroad, and approve regional and city level language programs," Taras Kremin said.

The Commissioner thanked for the support of Ukraine and, in particular, his institution as the State Language Protection Commissioner and reminded that on March 21, 2022, at the extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly of the European Federation of National Institutions for Language (EFNIL), Ukraine unanimously received the status of an associate member.

«Joining EFNIL is a confident step towards the standards of the European community, new opportunities for the exchange of experience and best language practices, and the popularization of Ukrainian as the future language of the European Union. Today we continue to inform our partners about the language situation in Ukraine and the consequences of russia's full-scale invasion in the context of linguocide - criminal actions of the occupants against Ukrainians," Language Ombusdman underlined.

According to the Commissioner, on the way to European integration, Ukraine continues to improve the Ukrainian legislation to promote the development of the linguistic identity of all indigenous peoples and representatives of national minorities of Ukraine.

The seminar was attended by representatives of language institutions from Latvia, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Iceland.