Romanian minority groups urge Bucharest to intervene in Ukraine school language bill

A legislative proposal on minority education has been submitted to the Ukrainian parliament and is pending a plenary debate. The parliamentary education committee has recommended fast-track consideration, but the bill has not yet been adopted. Romanian community representatives from three Ukrainian regions sent a letter to Romania’s president, foreign ministry and relevant parliamentary committees, asking for diplomatic backing.

They acknowledge some useful provisions but say the draft fails to protect essential rights for Romanian-language schooling. The signatories demand that Romanian remain the primary language of instruction, that the option to study in Romanian extend through secondary and vocational education, and that exam responses be allowed in Romanian. They also seek exemptions for small villages and clearer rules on the use of Ukrainian alongside Romanian. The appeal is signed by Aurica Bojescu, Ion Botoș, Eugen Patraș and Anatol Popescu.