During the plenary session of the European Parliament, Members debated the activities of the Committee on Petitions for the year 2024. In the discussion, Pál Szekeres, MEP for Fidesz and Patriot member of the Committee on Petitions, stated: “I am very pleased that the report urges that deaf persons be allowed to submit petitions in their own mother tongue – their national sign language! However, I am disappointed that the European Parliament refuses to acknowledge the cause of Europe’s indigenous minorities – including Hungarians living beyond the borders.”
Szekeres emphasized: “For deaf and hard-of-hearing people, the use of sign language in official proceedings is a matter of fundamental human dignity – it ensures that they too can directly address their elected representatives.”
At the same time, Szekeres firmly criticized the omission of the European Parliamentary Research Service’s study from the annual report, noting that it had drawn clear conclusions regarding the situation of Europe’s indigenous minorities: “If the European Parliament, for political reasons, chooses to ignore relevant professional recommendations, it is making the same mistake as the European Commission, which recently disregarded the will of 1.2 million citizens by rejecting their legislative request under the European Citizens’ Initiative on the protection of national regions.”
In conclusion, Pál Szekeres reminded: “My work in the Committee on Petitions is dedicated to defending citizens’ rights based on their real needs, while respecting the identity of national communities.”
Strasbourg, 9 October 2025