A New Benchmark for Minority Rights: EU Twinning Project NMPI to Launch in 2027
Starting in January 2027, the ECMI will serve as a key partner in a pioneering EU Twinning project: the creation of the “National Minority Policy Index” (NMPI). This three-year initiative aims to provide a novel way of assessing minority policies across European countries.
Closing the Implementation Gap
Starting in January 2027, the ECMI will serve as a key partner in a pioneering EU Twinning project: the creation of the “National Minority Policy Index” (NMPI). This three-year initiative aims to provide a novel way of assessing minority policies across European countries.
A Powerful Collaborative Network
Led by the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Zagreb, the project brings together four leading institutions in the field:
- University of Gothenburg (home of the V-Dem project)
- Institute for Minority Rights at EURAC Research (Bolzano/Bozen)
- ECMI (Flensburg)
ECMI’s Strategic Role
The ECMI will act as the methodological expert for the survey’s design and execution. Additionally, the ECMI is responsible for coordinating the dissemination of the results to vital international stakeholders, such as the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the European Parliament. We will also collaborate closely with minority organisations, including the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN).
The project is supported by a total funding of €1.5 million, with €310,000 dedicated to the ECMI’s activities. Our leading researchers for this project are Vello Pettai, Ljubica Djordjevic, Felix Schulte, and Kyriaki Topidi.
What is EU Twinning?
Twinning is an EU assistance tool designed for institutional capacity building. It fosters peer-to-peer cooperation between experts and public administrations to support medium-to-long-term reform processes through "learning by doing" and the sharing of best practices.
