WRITTEN QUESTION No. 963/98 by Josu IMAZ SAN MIGUEL to the Commission. Respect for minority languages
Date: 1998-03-30
Institutions: European Parliament, IMAZ SAN MIGUEL
Subjects: Commission Delegation, EU Member State, Eurostat, France, Slovakia, accession to the European Union, minority language, protection of minorities, rights of minorities

C 310/150

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9. 10. 98

(98/C 310/207)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0963/98

by Josu Imaz San Miguel (PPE) to the Commission

(30 March 1998)

Subject: Respect for minority languages

On 9 and 10 March a delegation from the Commission, the Council of Europe and the OSCE visited Bratislava
(Slovakia)  for  talks  with  the  Slovak  Government  on  the  protection  of  minority  languages  in  Slovakia.  The
Commission announced before the meeting that the aim was to reach agreement with the Slovak authorities on
areas in which additional efforts will have to be made to ensure that the rights of minorities living in Slovakia are
respected.

The protection of minority languages is one of the rights and, in the talks and consultations under the Europe
Agreement with the European Union, Slovakia has undertaken to see that this right is protected by means of
legislation to respect minority languages.

As a Member of the European Parliament who represents a constituency where a minority language › Basque ›
is spoken, I am delighted that the Commission is concerned about the situation of minority languages in the states
that  will  begin  the  negotiation  process  and  that  respect  for  minority  languages  is  an  important  condition  for
becoming a member of the Union.

Can the Commission give details of the conclusions of the meeting in Bratislava? Does it think that respect for
minority languages and the efforts to protect the rights of those who speak them are important conditions for
progress in negotiations with Slovakia? Is the Commission also concerned about respect for minority languages
in the 15 European Union Member States, especially France? What sort of measures will the Commission take to
ensure  respect  for  Basque,  Occitan,  Corsican,  Breton  and  other  minority  languages  spoken  in  France?  What
efforts is it considering to obtain France(cid:146)s signature to the Council of Europe(cid:146)s European charter for protection of
languages?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(28 April 1998)

The European Council in Copenhagen (1993) decided that in order to become members of the Community, the
candidate  countries  in  Central  and  Eastern  Europe  must  have  achieved  (cid:145)stability  of  institutions  guaranteeing
democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities(cid:146). In its opinion on the
Slovak application for Community membership of July 1997 which was endorsed by the European Council in
Luxembourg, the Commission examined various aspects of the protection of minorities in Slovakia, including
the protection of minority language rights.

In  response  to  the  opinion,  the  Slovak  Government  submitted  a  memorandum  in  November  1997  to  the
Commission,  the  Organisation  for  Security  and  Cooperation  in  Europe  (OSCE)  and  the  Council  of  Europe,
listing the legal and constitutional provisions in Slovakia touching on minority language use. These institutions
were invited by the Slovak Government to examine the Slovak situation in relation to international commitments
which Slovakia has accepted and to make suggestions as to how the protection of minority languages could be
improved in relation to those commitments.

The aforementioned institutions examined the situation and shared the results of their assessment with the Slovak
Government in discussions which took place in Bratislava on 9-10 March 1998. The Slovak authorities indicated
that  they  would  examine  the  comments  of  the  OSCE,  Council  of  Europe  and  the  Commission  in  depth  and
respond in detail to the points raised. They expressed their willingness to address any weaknesses in the area and
invited further expert discussion on possible legislative initatives.

The  Commission  is  implementing  an  initiative  in  this  field  (under  budget  heading  B3-1006)  which  aims  to
promote and safeguard regional and minority languages and cultures. Projects involving any regional or minority
language spoken in a Member State may benefit from this initiative provided that they fulfil the aims and criteria
of the calls for proposals.