The Council of Europe’s constitutional experts have criticized controversial language legislation adopted in Ukraine earlier this year and previous regulations regarding educational institutions signed into law by the country’s previous president, Petro Poroshenko.
The Venice Commission on December 6 said it specifically took issue with what it sees as an extremely short transition period for the converting of Russian-language schools into Ukrainian-language institutions. The commission also said it considers quotas for minority languages in radio and TV programs to be unbalanced.
“To avoid the language issue becoming a source of inter-ethnic tensions within Ukraine, it is of crucial importance to achieve an appropriate balance in its language policy,” the commission said. “The authorities have so far failed to do so.”