Strasbourg, 02.04.2025 – Despite efforts, further measures are needed in Austria to strengthen the minority languages covered by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML), according to a report published today by the Expert Committee that monitors Charter adherence. 

The Charter – which had entered into force in Austria in 2001 – covers the following minority languages in Austria: Burgenland-Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Romani, Slovak and Slovenian. The report evaluates progress on the recommendations “for immediate action” since the adoption in 2023 of a comprehensive “fifth round” appraisal.

The report acknowledges the steps taken: from updated curricula for Hungarian and Croatian in bilingual schools, to online bilingual German-Slovenian forms among other examples. But the new report includes further measures for the Austrian authorities to take into account when implementing the recommendations “for immediate action”: 

- Work with representatives of Burgenland-Croatian and Hungarian speakers to develop a strategy to tackle a lack of enough teachers. 
- Strengthen the use of Burgenland-Croatian and Slovenian in administration in practice, including in the publication of documents, by providing technical and financial support to the relevant authorities and continuing to improve the language competence of staff, among others.
- Introduce “structurally secured” funding for the Komenský School, which provides bilingual German-Czech and German-Slovak education. 
- Increase the frequency and duration of Hungarian language television programmes. 
- Ensure the structural integration of Romani across all levels of education. 

Further steps are also needed to implement the broad recommendation to “promote awareness throughout the country” for all the applicable languages and their respective cultures “as an integral part of the cultural heritage in Austria in mainstream education an in the media.”