Next May 17 the European Court of Human Rights will rule on the recognition of Silesian nation. As you already know, Silesians in Poland make up a community of more than one million people. Nonetheless, founder-members of a minority movement, the Union of Population of Silesian Nationality, had to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights after the Polish Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that a Silesian nation does not exist. One of the biggest national minorities in Central Europe must now wait for a verdict of the European Court, which will rule whether Poland is obliged to recognise Silesian people.

Although the Republic of Poland ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Silesians are officially regarded only as an ethnic group within the Polish nation. According to sociological research, about 15-20% of Upper Silesian people regard themselves Silesian, and as a nation separate from Poles, Czechs or Germans, but are refused official recognition by the State authorities.

By signing the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Rights of Minorities, Poland indubitably moved in the right direction. However, we believe that modernising Polish society will require developing new approaches to issues of honouring and guaranteeing national and minority rights. This becomes a stronger imperative with the European unification process.

We therefore fully support the recognition of Silesian nation in the framework of the Polish State.

Yours sincerely,

Nelly Maes, MEP
President DPPE-EFA

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