Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council: European Year of Languages 2001"

(2000/C 51/14)

On 30 November 1999 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 149 and 150 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Economic and Social Committee decided to appoint Mr Rupp as rapporteur-general to prepare its opinion.

At its 368th plenary session (meeting of 8 December 1999) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion with 67 votes in favour, no dissenting votes and six abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1. Articles 149 and 150 of the EC Treaty form the legal basis for the proposed European Year of Languages 2001. Article 149 refers to "developing the European dimension in education, particularly through the teaching and dissemination of the languages of the Member States".

1.2. In the field of language learning and training, the Community is following up earlier initiatives and undertaking new initiatives:

1.2.1. Under the Socrates programme, support was provided for the initial and in-service training of language teachers and the development of new teaching materials and for joint educational projects.

1.2.2. The Leonardo da Vinci programme promoted the development of vocationally-oriented language skills through transnational pilot projects and exchange programmes.

1.2.3. In the second phase of Leonardo II, due to commence in 2000, the importance of language learning will be reinforced and special attention will be paid to linguistic diversity and improving the quality of language teaching(1). The aim is "to promote a quantitative and qualitative improvement in the knowledge of the languages of the European Union, in particular those languages which are less widely used and less widely taught".

1.2.4. Leonardo da Vinci II (starts 2000) aims to raise the visibility of languages. The Council Decision of 26.4.1999 highlights the "promotion of language competences, including for less widely used and taught languages, and understanding of different cultures in the context of vocational training ('language competences')"(2).

1.2.5. Further key statements on the issue of languages and education can be found in the 1995 White Paper "Education and training: teaching and learning - Towards the learning society"(3).

1.2.6. The Green Paper "Education, training, research: the obstacles to transnational mobility"(4) also merits special attention.

2. Gist of the Commission proposal

2.1. The European Year of Languages is planned along the lines of the highly successful Year of Lifelong Learning (1996) and has four key objectives:

- to raise awareness of the richness of linguistic diversity within the European Union;

- to bring to the notice of the widest possible public the advantages of competence in a range of languages;

- to encourage the lifelong learning of languages and related skills;

- to collect and disseminate information about the teaching and learning of languages.

2.2. During the European Year, information and promotional measures will be undertaken on the theme of languages. The aim is to encourage people residing in the Member States to learn languages by raising awareness of their importance for the quality of life and economic competitiveness.

2.3. The following five measures are aimed at bringing home this objective:

- use of a common logo and of slogans

- Community-wide information campaign

- meetings and events at all levels (Community, transnational, national, regional and local)

- competitions and prizes

- financial support for initiatives.

3. Conclusions

3.1. The ESC broadly welcomes the European Commission's adoption of this proposed decision declaring 2001 a Year of Languages. The fact that this year falls at the beginning of a new millennium strikes the ESC as of considerable symbolic importance.

3.2. As the proposal quite rightly points out, the success of the Year of Languages 2001 requires "appropriate cooperation between the European Community and the Council of Europe". This is also mentioned in Clause 10 of the preamble, although the abstract wording of Article 10 of the proposal does not do justice to this requirement.

The ESC calls for a more concrete description of cooperation with the Council of Europe; this could take the form of, for instance, joint working parties or regular meetings of those responsible.

3.3. It has to be made very clear that the concept "language" must not be reduced to grammar, vocabulary and correct pronunciation, but that cultural values are the real issue.

The aim is to reach out to other cultures through language. European history has common roots and Europe thrives on the diversity of its cultures and languages. In this respect language learning helps Europeans to discover their identity; it is not an end in itself, but the means of transmitting cultural values. It should also be stressed that language creates a social community. This should be expressed more explicitly in Article 2 and the financial statement.

3.4. A capital opportunity for language use is offered by Europe's border regions, where learning each other's language should be especially encouraged and developed. At least the same attention and assistance should be given to languages in areas which are not near neighbouring states. The ESC would regret the exclusion of minority languages. This would contradict both the proposal's objectives and the target populations mentioned in 6.4.

3.5. The ESC calls for a discussion - as part of the Year of Languages - of the sustainability of these activities. Past experience might be useful here. An appropriate analysis and assessment of previous "Years" should go a long way to avoiding mistakes and problems in the Year of Languages 2001.

3.6. As for previous events (e.g. European Year of Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work) the ESC would like to participate directly in the work of the advisory committee.

3.7. The ESC is ready to cooperate actively with the Commission and is interested in collaborating on an appropriate initiative in 2001, to be carried out jointly with the Commission and other institutions.

3.8. The ESC is convinced that the Year of Languages 2001, after an appropriate preparatory phase, will be able to make a significant contribution to the understanding of languages through successful cooperation at all levels, and hence to the development of Europe and its civil society.

Brussels, 8 December 1999.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI

(1) OJ L 146, 11.6.1999 - ESC opinion: OJ C 410, 30.12.1998.

(2) OJ L 146, 11.6.1999 - ESC opinion: OJ C 410, 30.12.1998.

(3) COM(95) 590 final - ESC opinion: OJ C 295, 7.10.1996.

(4) Green Paper "Education, training, research: the obstacles to transnational mobility", COM(96) 462 final - ESC opinion: OJ C 133, 28.4.1997.