THE STATUS OF NATIONAL AN ETHNIC MINORITIES IN EUROPE: POLICIES AND INTERNATIONAL NORMS

The problem of the minorities remains a very controversial topic, not only in the former communist countries, but also in the Western ones, which have a long tradition in this respect. In some Western countries (France, Greece, Turkey etc.), the fact of existing national minorities on their territories is denied. Other states recognize the existence of the minorities, but differ in their attitude towards the respective groups. In these circumstances, there is a need to distinguish between national minorities and ethnic ones in order to better understand and analyze the phenomenon in question.