The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has signed a decree establishing Romanian Language Day, which will be celebrated annually on August 31. This decision aligns with European practices, as a similar date is recognized in other European countries. The announcement was made during a joint press conference between the Ukrainian leader and the President of Romania, Nicolae Ciucă, held in Bucharest on March 12.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Minority Language Rights: New Guarantees for Communities
During the meeting, the presidents of both countries emphasized the importance of intergovernmental dialogue regarding the protection of national minority rights and the development of education for the respective communities. Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Romania already has a Ukrainian Language Day celebrated on November 9, and stressed the need for mutual support of educational initiatives for the Romanian community in Ukraine and Ukrainians in Romania.
“Romania has a Ukrainian Language Day – it is November 9. We discussed this at the level of our teams, and today with Mr. President as well regarding educational issues – for the Romanian community in Ukraine, for our Ukrainian community in Romania. And we are ready to work fairly on all these matters going forward.”
The President of Romania, Nicolae Ciucă, highlighted Ukraine’s openness to the Romanian minority and confirmed that the state guarantees the continued operation of schools with Romanian language instruction and the provision of other rights for the Romanian community.
Changes in Legislation Regarding Minority Languages
At the end of 2025, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law that updated the list of languages requiring special support and protection according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This regulatory act introduces changes to the rules regarding minority languages, specifically removing the Russian language from the list, as there are “no grounds to consider the Russian language endangered.”
According to current legislation, the provisions of the European Charter apply to Romanian, as well as Belarusian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Crimean Tatar, Modern Greek, German, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech languages, and Hebrew. These changes aim to strengthen state guarantees for the development of minority languages and ensure their rights.
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is one of the key acts of the Council of Europe that regulates the legal protection of the languages of ethnic groups. Ukraine ratified this document in 2003.