A parliamentary question on the Turks in Western Thrace in the EU

Members of the European Parliament (EP) submitted a written question to the European Union (EU) Commission on the access of children from the Turkish minority in Western Thrace to quality pre-school education.

In the parliamentary question signed by MEPs Lorant Vincze, François Alfonsi, Herbert Dorfmann and Yana Toom, it was pointed out that the number of bilingual Turkish primary schools in Western Thrace has decreased.

Pointing out that there is not a single bilingual minority kindergarten in Western Thrace and that the Greek authorities did not respond to the demands of the Turkish society on this matter, the parliamentary question stated that “The deprivation of preschool education in the mother tongue of children in Turkish society creates inequality in education”.

The proposal also includes the question of what steps the EU Commission plans to take to guarantee the educational rights of children belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace. (AA)