The importance attached to the Romani language by the Council of Europe is reflected in the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML), the only legally binding instrument for the protection of minority languages, including Romani. 16 Council of Europe member States recognise Romani (or Romanes) as a minority language under the Language Charter.

The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages has included in its recommendations to states parties, that a coherent strategy for Romani should be developed, that Romani should be taught as a subject at all appropriate levels, and its teaching extended to pre-school, primary, secondary, technical and vocational education as an integral part of the curriculum. Romani should also be present in the media. The Council of Europe Secretariat of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has published a relevant brochure on Protection and promotion of regional or minority languages: promising practices across Europe 2015-2020, providing positive examples in respect with promoting the Romani language.

Given the importance of linguistic rights for the effective protection of all rights of persons belonging to national minorities and the importance of language as an expression of individual and collective identity, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities devoted a Thematic Commentary no. 3 to the linguistic rights of persons belonging to national minorities.

The Advisory Committee has called for measures that promote equal access to the learning of Romani, as well as the majority languages for persons belonging to the Roma minority and has underlined that schools should also offer education in and of Romani where appropriate. The importance of teaching of and through the medium of the Romani language has increasingly been discussed in the Opinions of the Advisory Committee as a necessary element of the efforts to ensure access to education for the Roma. This aspect has been also reflected by the Advisory Committee in its revised Thematic Commentary on Education under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which was published in October 2024. 

Photo credit: European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture

The Curriculum Framework for Romani (CFR) has been designed for policy makers, writers of textbooks and other learning materials, teacher educators and teachers. It uses the descriptive categories and common reference levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and in doing so aligns itself with the wider policies that shape the Council of Europe’s work in language education. To support the implementation of the CFR, the Council of Europe also developed two versions of the European Language Portfolio (ELP). The Romani–Plurilingual Policy Experimentation launched in March 2022 applies the Council of Europe’s concept of plurilingual and intercultural education to the educational inclusion of Roma pupils in primary schools in Greece, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. It aims to explore ways of using Romani language and culture to enhance the educational experience for Roma students.

In addition, the project “Strengthening the protection of national minorities, including Roma, and minority languages in Ukraine”, carried out in co-operation with the Institute of Pedagogy of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, looks at ways to contribute at enhancing the protection and development of the Romani language in Ukraine.