Allies or foes? Does the inclusion of new minorities undermine or strengthen the European system of minority protection?

Abstract This article analyses how the European minority rights system can be applied to migrant communities, and what implications such an extension of the scope of the system might have for the preservation of minority identities and the integration of European societies. Currently, most European states rely on an artificial distinction between old and new minorities, which is becoming untenable in practice. Therefore the article assesses three options of how recently arrived migrants can be incorporated into the European minority rights system: 1. maintaining the existing separation of old and new minorities, which does not promote the rights of migrant communities and is also not the most effective for integration; 2. incorporating migrant communities to the existing European system of minority rights, which provides little benefit to migrant communities and also has the potential to decrease the protection provided to autochthonous minorities; and 3. redesigning the system by including all minorities, but differentiating in the content of rights. The article argues that under the third approach, integration is possible without giving up minority languages and other essential characteristics of migrant communities' culture. It is therefore possible and desirable to extend the European minority rights system to recently arrived migrant communities.