Linguistic minorities launch European roadmap for diversity
The European Union's minority languages, such as Welsh, Frisian or Basque, should be accorded equal status with the official languages, according to a linguistic diversity road map presented in Brussels last week. EurActiv Spain reports.
Patxi Baztarrika, the Basque government's Vice-Councillor for linguistic policy, presented his European Roadmap for Linguistic Diversity in Brussels on 5 February.
He hopes to put up a protective ring-fence around the languages spoken by millions of people across the EU, but which have still only achieved "minority" status.
In his proposal to the European Parliament, the Basque politician said "European citizens have linguistic rights that must be protected".
"It is the duty of the European Institutions to protect and apply these rights. This roadmap will give concrete substance to article 22 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which states that the EU must respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity," he explained.
Inalienable right
"This is an inalienable right for all member states," Patxi Baztarrika added. He stressed that languages "mistakenly" assigned minority status "are the native languages of millions of Europeans". Baztarrika urged the EU to "reaffirm and update" its commitment to preserve linguistic diversity, which "should not end with state languages".
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"In a European context, where the states have autonomous regions, establishing a hierarchy between official languages is not a very inclusive approach," he said.
The Basque Vice-Councillor also urged the European Commission, a pioneer in multiculturalism and linguistic policy, to help strengthen the position of minority languages "like Catalan, Galician, Welsh, Frisian or Basque".
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Linguistic minorities launch European roadmap for diversity