The Venice Commission has stated that the Ukrainian government should look for a balance in the language policy so as not to turn the language issue into a source of ethnic tension. This has not been done yet, in particular in the latest law on the state language.

This is the main conclusion from a new opinion approved by the Venice Commission on Friday, according to the press service of the Council of Europe.

The Venice Commission acknowledges that the language policy is "an extremely complex, sensitive and highly politicized issue in Ukraine, especially in the context of the ongoing conflict with Russia."

"In view of the particular place of the Russian language in Ukraine, as well as the oppression of the Ukrainian language in the past, the Venice Commission fully understands the need to promote the use of Ukrainian as the State language. It is therefore commendable that the State Language Law provides for positive measures to this end by obliging the State to provide each citizen of Ukraine with an opportunity to master the language through the educational system, to organize free language courses and to promote access to films and other cultural products in Ukrainian," the Venice Commission said.

In addition, the Venice Commission welcomes that in several areas the state language law provides for the use of minority languages in parallel with the state language by "referring to the anticipated law on minorities".

"However, the Minorities Law has not been prepared yet, even though it should have been drafted simultaneously with the State Language Law to secure the needed balance from the outset. The Council of Europe experts call on Ukraine to prepare without any unnecessary delay the Law on Minorities and to consider postponing until adoption of this Law the implementation of the State Language Law provisions which are already in force," the Venice Commission said.

The authorities are invited to revise the state language law and to prepare the law on minorities in consultation with all interested parties, "especially representatives of national minorities and indigenous peoples."

In addition, the Venice Commission "specifically recommends" repealing the provisions of the law providing for "a differentiated treatment between the languages of indigenous peoples, the languages of national minorities which are official EU languages, and the languages of national minorities which are not official languages of the EU, if such treatment is not based on an objective and reasonable justification."

"For instance, the transitional period of implementation of the much-criticized Education Law provisions have been extended from September 1, 2020 to September 1, 2023, but only for students whose native language is an EU language, and not for those with other native languages, including Russian," the Venice Commission said.

"The Commission recommends prolonging this period for all national minorities and indigenous peoples," reads the document.

Besides, the authorities "should consider repealing the mechanism of complaint and sanctions set forth in the Law or at least to limit it strictly to the public sphere and for the most extreme cases."

"If the mechanism should be kept, the sanctions provisions should not be enforced until the adoption of the Law on Minorities and the revision of the State Language Law," the Venice Commission said in its conclusion.

The article establishing liability for deliberate distortion of the Ukrainian language in official documents and texts should also be removed, according to the Venice Commission.

"The Venice Commission invites the legislator to reconsider the quota requirements for the Ukrainian language content imposed by the State Language Law on television and radio broadcasters in the light of the principle of proportionality," reads the document.

In addition, the Commission notes that "individuals must be allowed to use a minority language among themselves, including when visible and audible by others in public places."

The possibility to distribute electoral campaign materials in languages other than Ukrainian should not be limited to areas of compact residence of minorities. The law must provide for clear exceptions for the use of languages other than Ukrainian in emergency situations (e.g. in communication with rescue services such as police, firefighters, hospital staff, etc.).

According to the document, requirements requesting the print media in the minority language to be published simultaneously in Ukrainian on the same day should be repealed. The provision on all geographical names and toponyms to be solely in Ukrainian as well as other provisions of the Law should be reconsidered, according to the Venice Commission.