A total number of 1,128,385 signatures of support for the Minority SafePack European citizens’ initiative on the protection of minorities were collected from 11 member states, after the national authorities of the countries concerned had certified the signatures. 1,320,246 signatures were originally submitted as part of the initiative aimed at improving the protection of autochthonous national minorities on the level of the European Union, but 14% of the signatures were found not to meet all formal requirements by the national authorities of the 28 member states of the European Union. The authorities also certified that the required minimum support threshold had been reached in a total of 11 member states, although the threshold has to be reached in at least 7 countries according to the statutory requirements. The 11 countries: Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Spain, Denmark, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, and Italy.
(MTI, 1 Aug 2018)
