(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 23 SET - Slovenia should ensure "sufficient resources" for the provision of television programmes in Italian, and Hungarian, languages that nonetheless enjoy in the country a "high legal standard of protection," the Council of Europe (CoE) said today.

Moreover, "Croatian, German and Serbian should be recognised as minority languages traditionally spoken in Slovenia, the teaching of the Romani language and culture further developed." Those are the priority recommendations given to Slovenia by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, based on the evaluation report by the Committee of Experts under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Furthermore, Slovenia should reinforce "measures to raise public awareness of the regional and minority languages in education and media." "The Committee notes the high legal standard of protection for the Hungarian and Italian languages, including through constitutional provisions," the Council noted in a statement.

However, "certain shortcomings remain in the use of these languages in practice. The language competence of teachers still needs to be reinforced. A more pro-active approach from the authorities is needed for the use of Hungarian and Italian in administration, including encouraging their speakers to make use of the available opportunities. Concerns have been expressed regarding the financial resources available for the Hungarian and Italian programmes of the public broadcaster." (ANSA).