Regrettable action by the Carinthian State Parliament – Member of Parliament reprimanded for using the Slovene language

Seventy years after the signing of the Austrian State Treaty, which in Article seven sets out Austria's obligations towards the Slovenian minority, it is unacceptable that the Slovenian minority in Austrian Carinthia must still struggle to exercise the right to use the Slovene language. The reprimand also goes against the spirit of the Carinthian constitution, which provides that, alongside German, Carinthia recognises the linguistic and cultural diversity of the Slovenian national minority. The symbolic use of a few Slovene words in MP Smrtnik's speech cannot reasonably be considered a breach of the Carinthian State Parliament's rules of procedure, nor as a threat to anyone in Austrian Carinthia.

This incident is regrettable and undermines the achievements made in fostering coexistence between the majority and minority populations in Carinthia. Slovenia therefore expects the Austrian authorities, at both state and federal level, to do more to ensure that the rights and dignity of the Slovenian national minority are fully respected.