Check against delivery UN Forum on Minority Issues Third Session Geneva, 14 – 15 December 2010 Statement by Austria Mme President, Since its establishment, supporting the Forum on Minority Issues has been a priority for Austria. This Forum provides a unique opportunity for dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities involving a wide range of stakeholders. We applaud this year’s focus on economic participation. In Austria, while our six autochthonous minority groups whose rights are safeguarded in our constitution are generally well integrated in the labor market, we are now nevertheless in the process of rethinking our approach to their economic integration. In the framework of the current reform of our national Minority Act, we have recently established a working group dealing with the economic participation of our national minorities. Austria is discussing these reforms in the context of shifting demographic, social and cultural patterns. Taking these developments into account, it is evident that the traditional protection measures for minorities have to be integrated in regional development perspectives. In this context, preserving and fostering minority languages constitutes an important aspect. The enlargement of the European Union has on the one hand led to an economical revalorization of minority languages and has considerably affected the demand for studying them. However, at the same time we can observe a decrease in linguistic competences in daily life. We need to better reflect the potential of multilingualism and intercultural competence of national minorities, which also includes strong ties to neighbouring countries and thus to neighbouring markets. In this context, I would like to stress that in recent years many companies and public institutions in Austria have realised the importance