WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1495/99 by Ingo FRIEDRICH Binding ruling on equality in the use of the working languages English, French and German in all European institutions and bodies
Date: 1999-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, FRIEDRICH INGO
Subjects: Council of the European Union, European Commission, linguistic discrimination, official language, operation of the Institutions, powers of the institutions (EU)

29.1.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 27 E/71

In 1999 the promotion of regional and minority languages was funded under other budget headings:
A-3015 (1 million € to finance activities of the EBLUL and the Mercator information network); B3-1000
(Cooperation in the fields of education and youth policy): 2,5 million € to support operations for the
promotion and protection of regional languages and cultures in the Community ) and B3-2004 (500 000 €
under the programme for a multilingual information society to contribute to the promotion of linguistic
diversity in the Community, including the less-used regional languages).

The 1999 call for proposals specifically targeted preparatory measures which will enable the Commission
to formulate a solid and consisent set of proposals reflecting the European citizen(cid:146)s needs for a future
multiannual programme for the development of the European dimension of education through learning,
promoting and disseminating regional and/or minority languages.

In addition, this autumn the Commission is to adopt a proposal for a decision to organise a European
Languages Year in 2001. The aim of the event will be to increase public awareness of linguistic diversity in
the Community and to encourage citizens to learn more languages, including minority languages.

Minority languages as vehicles of
local and regional culture are supported by Community cultural
programmes designed to maintain cultural diversity in the Community. The Ariane programme (Support
programme for books and reading, and culture) has so far financed operations relating to the literature of
minority languages. For example, in 1998 it contributed to the Mosaic project in support of a network of
publishers of minority languages. Similar operations promoting minority languages will always be eligible
under the Framework Programme on Culture 2000-2004 which can support cooperative action to
enhance multilingualism and innovatory projects promoting public access and participation in regional
cultural diversity.

(2000/C 27 E/086)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1445/99

by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(1 September 1999)

Subject: Recognition of multilingualism on the basis of the existing legislation in the Member States

The EU proclaims, in all its texts and directives, the linguistically and culturally diverse nature of Europe,
stresses the linguistic and cultural diversity of its Member States, and quite consciously promotes the need
for Community policies to encourage the least-used languages and lesser-known cultures of Europe.

In view of the variations in the legislation on the status of languages in the different Member States, it
would be desirable, for the recognition and future development of the languages concerned, for the Union
itself to adopt the most positive aspects of the existing Member State legislation as regards the treatment of
(cid:145)minority(cid:146) languages. A clear example here is the Spanish state, in which Galician, Basque and Catalan are
recognised as co-official languages having the same status as Spanish.

In the light of the above, what is the Commission(cid:146)s view on the possibility of conferring the status of
official EU languages not only on the official languages of the Member States, but also on those languages
which are official in the Member States?

(2000/C 27 E/087)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1495/99

by Ingo Friedrich (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(1 September 1999)

Subject: Binding ruling on equality in the use of the working languages English, French and German in all

European institutions and bodies

Council Regulation No 1 of 15 April 1958 (1) clearly requires the use of the now eleven official languages
within the European institutions. Article 1 makes no distinction between official and working language,