WRITTEN QUESTION E-2787/99

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(18 January 2000)

Subject: Community funding for the school of Sardinian language and culture in Quartu S. Elena

In the municipality of Quartu S. Elena, the most important school of Sardinian language in the region risks closure, because the funds expected from the Sardinian regional government and from the EU have not yet arrived: it is thus possible that the courses arranged for the 1999-2000 academic year, for which large numbers of students have already registered, will have to be cancelled. Quartu S. Elena, a pioneer in the official use of Sardinian (inter alia in the municipality's official documents), could thus be forced to interrupt a cultural initiative which achieved remarkable success in 1998, with eleven courses and close on 300 participants. The objective of this school has been to enable all to understand, read and write Sardinian: the project took off with the arrival of regional funding under the Italian Law 26, together with ECU 20 000 from the EU and LIT 50 million from the municipality. This funding approximately LIT 150 million in all made it possible to set up operations with free classes for both adults and children.

The available funds have now been exhausted, and the municipality of Quartu S. Elena has launched an appeal to the EU and the Sardinian regional government, calling on them to ensure that funding is not cut off. After requesting funding for the project Deu fueddu su sardu, the municipal administration has also embarked on a cooperation scheme involving a Catalan-language school in Xebia (Valencian Community, Spain) and the University of Corsica, preparing a cycle of courses which should have begun already. Quartu S. Elena has also taken part in a international competition with the objective of safeguarding and promoting the European cultural heritage, made up as it is of over fifty language communities.

In view of the importance and seriousness of this educational and cultural project, dedicated to a regional minority language which is officially recognised by the European Bureau for Lesser-used Languages, does the Commission consider that immediate action is required to ensure funding for the activities of the school of Sardinian language and culture in Quartu S. Elena, thus enabling it to stay open?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(10 February 2000)

The learning and spread of minority languages help maintain the linguistic and cultural diversity of the European Union. The Community promotes the regional and minority languages of the Union by implementing the action The promotion and safeguard of regional and minority languages and culture, financed under budget heading B3-1000.

The Sardinian language school in Quartu S. Elena benefited from Community funding to launch the project as a pilot project in 1998. The priority for Community funding and its necessary added value is to favour new initiatives which could not be run without funding from the Community action. When the project was resubmitted in 1999, it could only be put on the reserve list, as other projects were of better quality or greater priority, and unfortunately the budget limit meant that it could not be funded.