European elections 2009, new pro-linguistic diversity MEPs (Eurolang)

The European elections saw a mixed bag of results in terms of how the new Parliament will be dealing with the issues faced by Europe’s lesser-used language speakers and national minorities. On the plus side the elections saw several MEPs elected who are proactive in their support for lesser used languages and national minorities, on the negative side activists will have to watch the right and far right MEPs who have a record of denouncing national minorities.

 

The Parliament’s political groups are in negotiations this week finalising the allocations of the various different parliamentary posts. The final list of MEPs per state is yet to be published.

 

European Free Alliance
The EFA comprising nationalists and regionalists from across Europe stood on the most overtly pro-linguistic diversity manifesto. In the Parliament they sit with Greens.

The EFA gained a Corsican MEP, Francescu Alfonsi, who ran on a joint Greens-regionalist (Régions et Peuples Solidaire) platform. Mr Oriol Junqueras comes in from Catalonia for Esquerra Republica Catalunya, his term will be split with Ana Miranda from Bloque Nacionalista Galego (Galicia). He replaces Mikel Irujo.

Jill Evans (Plaid Cymru) was successful in Wales, while the SNP just missed a third seat with Ian Hudghton and Alyn Smyth re-elected. It is anticipated that they will be joined by Bishop László Tokés who returns to represent the Transylvanian Hungarians in the EFA. The Cornish party Mebyon Kernow, while not gaining a seat, did well beating the Labour party and winning 7% of the vote in Cornwall.

Greens
The Greens/ regionalist alliance had a huge success in France, equalling the Socialist vote, gaining 8 seats, and winning 14 MEPs overall in France. Nicole Kiil-Nielsen joins from Brittany. Several new Finnish Greens are very supportive on Sami issues while Raul Romeva from the Catalan Greens kept his seat.

EPP
Strong supporters for the Hungarian national minorities are Kinga Gal and Csaba Sogor who will go to the centre-right EPP group. The conservative Fidesz party did well in Hungary returning language Intergroup members György Schöpflin and Pal Schmitt. Slovakia sees Edit Bauer return for the Hungarian party Magyar Koalíció Pártja, she will also sit with the EPP.

ALDE
The new Swedish Finn MEP, Carl Haglund, comes in to replace Henrik Lax. He will join Finnish MEP Hannu Takkula in the Liberal ALDE group. Ramon Tremosa comes in for the Catalan CiU party, and ex-speaker of the Basque Parliament, Izaskun Bilbao, won for the Basque party (PNV).

GUE
Bairbre de Brun (Sinn Fein) held on to her seat with an increased majority.

ASDE (PES)
The Socialists announced on Friday that they have formed alliance with the Italian Democratic Party to create the Alliance of Socialists and Democrats for Europe. Catalan Maria Badia i Cutchet, who helped overturn this spring’s multilingualism report, comes back along with Csaba Tabajdi from the Hungarian socialists.

Ones to watch

However, despite the success of many progressive candidates the elections also saw gains from the far right in central and eastern Europe, many of which are noted for their hostility to national minorities and lesser used languages.

Jobbik in Hungary campaign against the Roma and won 3 seats; the Slovak National Party (1 seat) and the Greater Romania Parties (3 seats) denounce the Hungarian national minority; and Ataka, (2 seats) Bulgaria’s ultra-nationalist party, attacks, verbally, that country’s ethnic Turks. The Freedom Party in Austria doubled its vote to win 2 seats.

In Spain the conservative PP won the most seats, one of their leading MEPs Mayor-Oreja stated before the election that Basque, Catalan and Galician should not have official status in the EU. In Brussels they sit with the EPP. 

In England, UKIP, despite their own MEP’s expenses scandal, a policy to close down the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, as well as for the UK to leave Europe, gained one seat giving them 13 seats. The far right British National Party won two.

Meanwhile, Latvia saw the last head of the Latvian Communist Party Alfreds Rubiks win. Rubiks, who spent six years in prison for trying to overthrow the country's first democratic government since the Second World War, has made no secret of his dismay over the collapse of the Soviet Union. (Eurolang 2009)

European Parliament elections site
http://www.elections2009-results.eu/en/index_en.html