Miroslavs Mitrofanovs (Verts/ALE). – Madam President, on Saturday, 10 March, a protest rally was held in Riga, the capital of Latvia. Five thousand participants expressed their deep concern regarding the decision of the Latvian authorities to destroy the system of minority education.

I promised to inform the EU institutions about this disaster. Thirteen years ago, when Latvia joined the EU, the Latvian authorities agreed and incurred obligations to respect and protect national minorities. The recent decision to prohibit the use of minority languages as a tool of instruction in secondary schools is a flagrant violation of these basic principles of the EU. The Russian—speaking minority of Latvia comprises up to 40% of the population of the country.

The ongoing destruction of Russian minority schools undermines the peace and mutual confidence in the society. On behalf of my voters and on behalf of the Russian minority in Latvia, I ask the EU institutions to intervene in this situation and ensure the protection of human rights in Latvia. Let us say it together: stop killing minority schools.