EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 65/215

(2004/C 65 E/230)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2777/03

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 September 2003)

Subject: Use of the Aromanian, Albanian, Slavo-Macedonian and Pomak languages in Greece

In her answer to my Question No E-1710/03 (1) on the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (EBLUL), Commissioner Reding stated, inter alia, that: ‘The minority language groups in the Union were identified by researchers and the results published in 1996 in the Euromosaic study. (…) On page 41 of the English version of this study a reference is made to the existence of Aromanian, Albanian and Slavo-Macedonian in Greece, each of which has an estimated number of speakers of between 50 000 and 80 000.’

In response to my request for precise information about members of the EBLUL committees, the Commissioner referred me to the EBLUL website.

I am therefore obliged to repeat my question and to ask a number of new questions:

1. Is the Commission (which funds this Office) aware of the precise identity of the members of these committees and does it know whether there has been any friction between any of them and the national authorities of certain Member States?

2. Has the Commission investigated who compiled the statistics on speakers of ‘Aromanian, Albanian and Slavo-Macedonian’ in Greece (which are quoted by the Commissioner and are taken from the Euromosaic report) and whether they are totally reliable and really official?

3. Is EBLUL engaged in the promotion and teaching of Pomak in Greek Thrace? What specific activities has it taken to ensure that Pomak children are taught their mother tongue, rather than Turkish, as has occurred for decades and still occurs today, despite the fact that they are not of Turkish origin and their language (Pomak) is one of the most ancient languages of the region, has an alphabet and a grammar and thousands of primers have been printed for primary school children but have never been used?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(23 October 2003)

With regard to the first question, the Commission refers the Honourable Member to its answers to his Written Questions E-1140/03 (2) and E-1710/03 (3). The European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (EBLUL) is an independent non-government organisation, and its national committees are independent bodies constituted at the level of each Member State.

The Euromosaic study was funded following an invitation to tender and was carried out by independent experts duly identified in the published report.

Concerning the second question, the three managers of the report, Peter Nelde (Onderzoekscentrum voor Meertaligheid, Katholieke Universiteit Brussel), Miquel Strubell (Direcció General de Política Lingüística, Barcelona) and Glyn Williams (Research Centre Wales, Bangor), worked with an expert committee comprising ten members from the EU, the United States and Canada.

Besides the general report published by the Commission in 1996, entitled Euromosaic: the production and reproduction of the minority language groups in the European Union, and quoted by the Commission in its answers to the Honourable Member's two previous questions, the same team produced more than 50 individual reports, all with the same structure, on each of the language communities.

Regarding the last question, the role of the Bureau is specified on its website (4):

— to promote active EU policy-making in favour of regional or minority languages and to defend the linguistic rights of the speakers of those languages;

— to safeguard the languages of more than 40 million minority language speakers living in EU Member States;

— to represent regional or minority languages in dealings with EU institutions and other international organisations;

— to coordinate the range of activities of specialised institutions and/or associations actively involved in language promotion, as well as to coordinate the range of activities of its Member State Committees;

— to keep language communities informed about European policy developments concerning minority languages and about language-related programmes;

— to maintain a permanent communication between communities and to facilitate contacts and exchanges between them;

— to organise cultural events and conferences in Brussels or in those Member States in which regional or minority languages are spoken;

— to seek legal and political support in favour of lesser-used languages at EU and Member State level.

As teaching and education systems are the full responsibility of the Member States, pursuant to Article 149 of the EC Treaty, the educational situation of Pomak children in Greece is the exclusive responsibility of the Greek State.

(1) OJ C 11 E, 15.1.2004, p. 218.

(2) OJ C 268 E, 7.11.2003, p. 176.

(3) OJ C 11 E, 15.1.2004, p. 218.

(4) http://ww2.lingualia.net:8080/agares/eblul