Education through the medium of Turkish in Greece

Subject: Education through the medium of Turkish in Greece

Articles 40, 41 and 45 of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne grant the Turkish minority of Western Thrace the right to education in its native language (Turkish) at minority schools, as well as the right to manage these educational institutions. However, Greece does not let the minority enjoy its educational autonomy fully.

Even though bilingual schooling in primary education has been in use in Western Thrace since 1923, the opening of bilingual minority kindergarten(s) has never been allowed since attending kindergarten became part of compulsory education in 2006. With Article 33 of Law 4521/2018, compulsory kindergarten education has recently increased in duration from one to two years.

In the light of this recent amendment regarding kindergarten education in Greece:

1. Is the Commission aware of the situation, i.e. that Greece is not fulfilling its obligations under either the Treaty of Lausanne or the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union concerning education in the Turkish language?

2. What is the Commission’s opinion on the effect of this misguided policy on minority children’s prospects for education?

Answer given by Mr Navracsics on behalf of the European Commission

(27 February 2019)

In accordance with Article 51(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the provisions of the Charter are addressed to Member States only when they are implementing Union law, which is not the case in the present situation. In fact, Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides that the Union shall fully respect the responsibility of the Member States for the content of teaching and the organisation of their education systems.

It follows that the legal provisions of education at all levels in minority languages fall within the exclusive competence of the Member States. Furthermore, the Commission has no general power to investigate compliance by Greece with the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne.

In accordance with Article 165 TFEU, Member States have the sole responsibility for the organisation of their education systems, including the organisation early childhood education and care.

In full respect of the subsidiarity principle, the European Union supports and complements Member States efforts in this area. It contributes to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation and peer exchange between Member States.

In this respect, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Recommendation on high quality early childhood education and care systems (1) in May 2018.

This proposal recommends that Member States work towards ensuring that early childhood education and care services are accessible, affordable and inclusive for all children, and includes concrete quality principles.

⋅1∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52018DC0271 | | ( | | )