4.16.3.     Language policy

LEGAL BASIS

Articles 3 and 149 of the EC Treaty;
Articles 21 and 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

The Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted in 2000 places an obligation on the Union to respect linguistic diversity (Article 22) and prohibits discrimination on grounds of language (Article 21). Respect for linguistic diversity is a fundamental value of the European Union, in the same way as respect for the person, openness towards other cultures, tolerance and acceptance of other people.

In the field of education and vocational training, the EC Treaty gives the EU the task of supporting and supplementing action by the Member States aimed at developing the European dimension in education, particularly through the teaching and dissemination of EU languages (Article 149(2)).

OBJECTIVES

The aim of European Union language policy is to promote the teaching and learning of foreign languages in the EU and thereby create a language friendly environment for all Member State languages. Foreign language competence is regarded as one of the basic skills which every EU citizen needs to acquire in order to improve his/her educational and employment opportunities within the European learning society, in particular by making use of the right to freedom of movement of persons. Foreign language competence is also seen as very important in supporting cultural exchange and personal development (2002/C 50/01).

Within the framework of education and vocational training policy, the European Union's objective is therefore for every EU citizen to master two other languages in addition to his/her mother tongue. In order to achieve this objective, children are to be taught two foreign languages in school from an early age (SN 100/1/02 REV 1).

In the context of the Lisbon strategy adopted by the European Council in March 2000, the importance of foreign language learning in raising the competitiveness of the European economy is being emphasised. In connection with the reforms of national education and vocational training systems needed in order to achieve the Lisbon objectives, EU education ministers have set themselves the objective of improving foreign language teaching and thereby making a significant contribution to releasing the EU's economic, social and cultural potential (5680/01 EDUC 18).

For the 2004-2009 legislative term, a Commissioner whose responsibilities expressly include multilingualism - - Jan Figél from Slovakia - was appointed for the first time. In November 2005 the Commission presented its New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism (COM(2005)596), which has three main aims: to encourage language learning and promote linguistic diversity in society, to promote a multilingual economy, and to give citizens easier access to information on the EU in their own languages. The Member States are also being called upon to support the achievement of the first two of these aims by taking additional measures.

ACHIEVEMENTS

A. Support programmes

1. Action plan
In response to a European Parliament resolution (T5-0718/2001) and a Council resolution (2002/C 50/01), in July 2003 the Commission adopted an Action Plan 2004 – 2006 on 'Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity' (COM(2003)449), setting out three areas in which it would be providing funding for short-term action to support measures taken by Member States under existing Community programmes: lifelong language learning, improving the teaching of foreign languages, and creating a language friendly environment

2. Education and vocational training
The main financial support for foreign language learning is provided under the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci educational and vocational training programmes.

a. Socrates: Action programme in the field of education

i. Lingua: Promoting language teaching and language learning
Lingua is the only programme which is wholly aimed at promoting foreign language learning. It is divided into two parts.

Lingua 1 supports projects which raise citizens’ awareness of the Union’s linguistic diversity, encourage people to learn languages throughout their lifetime, and improve access to foreign language learning resources across Europe. It also supports the development and dissemination of innovative techniques and good practice in language teaching. Lingua 2 is aimed at improving language teaching by ensuring that sufficient high-quality language learning tools and tools for assessing linguistic skills are made available.

ii. Comenius: European cooperation on school education
Both parts of Comenius include measures to promote language learning. Comenius 1 supports various types of school partnerships with the aim of encouraging language learning. Under Comenius 2 individual training grants are available to teachers. Those eligible to apply are student teachers, language assistants, language teachers and teacher training establishments.

iii. Erasmus: Community action programme in the field of higher education
Under the EU's mobility programme for students, support is provided for intensive language courses, which give students the opportunity to study the language of the host country over three to eight weeks in the host country. Support is targeted especially at courses in less widely used and taught EU languages as well as languages spoken in third countries participating in the Erasmus programme.

iv. Grundtvig: Adult education and other educational pathways
Encouraging foreign language learning is one of the main aims of the European action programme for developing adult education. The EU therefore supports the design and production of teaching materials aimed at improving knowledge of Member States' languages and culture.

b. Leonardo da Vinci: Action programme in the field of vocational training
The Leonardo programme supports projects aimed at enhancing employees' skills in the area of multilingual and multicultural communication through vocational training. In contrast to the support programmes under the Socrates programme, these projects have to be specifically targeted at a target group in the area of vocational training. They are intended to raise awareness among companies of the importance of foreign language skills and support companies in developing foreign language training opportunities.

In addition, support is provided for transnational exchange projects between businesses, on the one hand, and vocational training establishments, on the other, which are designed to contribute to developing and improving methods used in vocational training in the area of language and intercultural skills.

3. Support under other EU programmes
In addition to educational and training programmes, financial assistance for language projects is available under other EU programmes. For example, support has been provided for the translation of books and manuscripts under the EU's cultural programme Culture 2000. The EU's action programme in the field of audiovisual media, Media, makes available funding for dubbing and subtitling of European cinema and TV films.

Funding to support regional and minority languages is available to relevant organisations under various EU programmes: agriculture, the audiovisual sector, education and training, the information society, regional policy, research and innovation, and youth. It is to the initiative of the European Parliament - which has repeatedly drawn attention in resolutions to the situation and the need to support regional and minority languages (P5-B(2001)0815; P5-TA(2003)0372) - that these support measures are owed.

4. Future action to promote languages

From 2007 language learning will be promoted within the framework of the new integrated action programme in the field of lifelong learning, which will bring together the EU's current education and training programmes. The promotion of language learning and linguistic diversity is one of the specific objectives of the integrated programme, as set out in the Commission proposal (COM(2004)474). According to the Commission proposal, the programme is to have a budget of €13.62 billion. This proposal is currently being considered by the Parliament and the Council.

B. Other EU initiatives

1. Raising awareness of the importance of foreign languages
In order to highlight the importance of linguistic diversity and foreign language learning in Europe, 2001 was declared the European Year of Languages by the EU and the Council of Europe. A total of 45 countries took part, with the aim of encouraging language learning throughout Europe. During that year language projects took place throughout Europe, and included exhibitions, open days and mini language courses. The Commission bore a considerable proportion (€6 million) of the costs of projects. Hundreds of thousands of people took part in the different projects, in which over 60 languages were represented.

Encouraged by the huge success of the European Year of Languages, the EU and the Council of Europe decided to celebrate the so-called European Day of Languages every year on 26 September, with all sorts of events promoting language learning. Like the earlier European Year of Languages, this action is aimed at raising awareness among citizens of all the languages spoken in Europe and at strengthening lifelong learning.

2. Comparability of data on language competence
As called for by the European Council, in August 2005 the Commission proposed to the Council and the European Parliament the introduction of a European Indicator of Language Competence (COM(2005)356 final). This indicator is intended to make a substantial contribution to achieving the objective of 'mother tongue + two' by enabling foreign language competence to be measured in a comparable way in all Member States.

In its resolution of March 2006 (A6-0074/2006) the European Parliament welcomed the Commission proposal and called on both the Commission and the Council to propose further measures to strengthen multilingualism in the EU.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

A. Own initiatives

From the outset of the process of integration, the European Parliament has been an advocate for recognising the importance of, and promoting, linguistic diversity in the European Union.

During the current legislative term, the Parliament has already taken the initiative on a number of occasions in order to give fresh impetus to the development of language policy in Europe. In particular, the Committee on Culture and Education has produced own initiative reports identifying the need for action in certain areas and calling on the Commission to draw up measures aimed at recognising the importance of, and promoting, linguistic diversity in the EU. For example, with regard to school education, the importance of a language friendly environment in helping children from immigrant communities to integrate has been highlighted (A6-0243/2005).

B. Principle of multilingualism applying to Parliament's work

EU institutions work in 20 official languages. With the adoption of Irish as an official language of the EU and the accession of Bulgaria and Rumania, the number will increase to 23 by 2008. The EU's commitment to multilingualism in law-making and administration is unique throughout the world. The EU believes that using the different languages spoken by its citizens is a factor in ensuring greater transparency, legitimacy and effectiveness. Legislation adopted by the EU must be available to all EU citizens in their respective mother tongue. In addition, every EU citizen has the right to present requests or petitions in his/her mother tongue to the European Parliament, other EU institutions and advisory bodies and the European Ombudsman, and to receive a reply in his/her mother tongue.

As regards interpreting, the European Parliament differs from the other EU institutions in so far as the principle of 'controlled full multilingualism' is observed in its day-to-day work. That means that interpretation is provided out of, and into, all EU official languages. With the exception of smaller meetings, interpretation is provided for part sessions and meetings of parliamentary bodies, committees and groups on the basis of this principle, in so far as the capacity of the interpreting service allows. The right of every MEP to interpretation of debates into his/her own mother tongue and interpretation of his/her own speeches is enshrined in Parliament's Rules of Procedure. In its efforts to safeguard the use of all official languages in practice in parliamentary proceedings, the European Parliament is the very embodiment of linguistic diversity in the EU.

Lisa Mutke
06/2006