Latvian MEP plans ethnic minority group in European Parliament
By Honor Mahony
Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka is planning to set up a group for ethnic minorities in the European Parliament.
Ms Zdanoka, who herself is from the Russian minority in Latvia, told news agency LETA that after the summer break she wants to get further with her intention to be at the "project stage".
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However, at this point it is not clear which other MEPs would be interested in taking part in this ethnic minority group.
According to Der Standard, the Latvian said she also intends to put the issue of the, mainly Russian, 'non-citizens' on the Brussels agenda.
These non-citizens account for approximately one fifth of the country’s 2.32 million inhabitants and enjoy no political rights in the country.
Ms Zdanoka also wants to set up a European taskforce for minority issues - she is a member of the European Parliament's civil liberties committee and overall a member of the Green group.