Commission staff working document - Accompanying document to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment  - Summary of the impact assessment {COM(2008) 566 final} {SEC(2008) 2443} {SEC(2008) 2444}
Date: 2008-09-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union, competitiveness, economic and social cohesion, economic development, globalisation, impact study, language teaching, multilingualism

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 18.9.2008 
SEC(2008) 2445 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Accompanying document to the 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and  
a shared commitment  

SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

{COM(2008) 566 final} 
{SEC(2008) 2443} 
{SEC(2008) 2444} 

This report commits only the Commission's services involved in its preparation and does not 
prejudge the final form of any decision to be taken by the Commission 

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

This Impact Assessment Report presents the state of play in relation to multilingualism policy 
and proposes to reinforce action in this field. It accompanies the proposal for the Commission 
Communication  “Multilingualism:  an  asset  for  Europe  and  a  shared  commitment” 
(n°2008/EAC/004 in the Agenda Planning).  

Linguistic  diversity  is  a  key  long-term  feature  of  the  European  Union,  whose  500  million 
citizens  speak  23  different  official  languages  along  with  60  other  languages  spoken  only  in 
specific  regions  or  by  specific  groups,  not  to  mention  the  over  300  different  languages  that 
our  immigrants  bring  with  them.  It  is  estimated  that  currently  citizens  from  at  least  175 
nationalities are living within the boundaries of the European Union. Migration flows added 
to  the  already  existing  patchwork  of  national  minorities  and  cultural.  In  such  a  context, 
interaction between speakers of different languages has increased steadily over recent years, 
because  of  increasing  intra-European  mobility;  migration  flows  from  third  countries  and 
globalisation.  This  trend  is  likely  to  continue  and  to  further  increase  in  the  years  to  come. 
Against this background, the two problems highlighted in this Impact Assessment are:1 

(1) 

(2) 

Knowledge of foreign languages remains insufficient. Europeans have not yet acquired 
skills  in  two  additional  languages  to  their  mother  tongue,  as  called  for  by  the 
Barcelona Council; 

European  citizens,  companies  and  service  providers  are  not  fully  aware  of  assets  as 
well as of challenges of linguistic diversity in Europe.  

The  problem  definition  is  supported  by  data  and  feedback  received  during  the  follow-up  of 
two previous Communications on multilingualism2 (2007) and the 9 month-long consultation 
process (2007-2008). 

Previous  Communications  on  multilingualism  and  language  diversity  set  out  an  agenda  of 
actions up to 2006-2007, and called for a review and possible further action. The assessment 
of  progress  and  implementation  carried  out  in  2007  shows  that  while  there  is  evidence  of 
progress  (particularly 
in  primary  and  secondary  education), 
implementation needs to continue and should be reinforced in a lifelong learning perspective, 
with much attention given to informal language learning and linguistic diversity in the local 
environment.  

language 

learning 

in 

As  for  the  consultation  process,  Member  States,  European  institutions  and  stakeholders 
shared the following views:  

1 

2 

Institutional  multilingualism  (i.e.  languages  used  by  the  European  Commission  to  communicate 
internally  and  with  the  citizen:  publications  /  translation  /  interpretation)  is  out  of  the  scope  of  this 
Impact  Assessment  and  related  policy  initiatives.  Although  institutional  multilingualism  deals  with 
languages, it has different problems, objectives and options and decision was taken not to tackle them 
together 
COM(2003) 449 final, COM(2005) 596 final, COM(2007) 554 final/2 

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On the scope of multilingualism policy:  

•  Linguistic and cultural diversity is perceived as a long-term feature of European 
society:  most  people  value  it  while  acknowledging  the  need  to  manage  it  in  an 
effective and prudent way. Shifting to a single language is not an option for  the 
majority of respondents.  

•  A  language  policy  promoting  only  the  learning  of  EU  official  languages  is  too 
limited  for  present-day  society,  where  citizens  (and  residents)  speaking  many 
different languages are in daily contact.  

•  Language learning should be placed in a lifelong perspective. 

•  Multilingualism is a transversal issue that has an impact on competitiveness and 
European  citizenship  and  which  should  be  mainstreamed  in  a  range  of  policies 
going beyond the field of education. 

•  Promoting linguistic diversity should not aim at preserving languages as an end in 
itself,  on  the  contrary,  it  should  emphasise  dialogue  between  languages  and 
communities.  

•  Every citizen needs a different set of language skills, which depend on individual 

interests and where one lives, as well as family and professional background. 

On Methods: 

•  Member  States  and  the  Commission  should  develop  a  language  policy  which 
favours  linguistic  diversity  and  promotes  a  language  friendly  environment, 
through  widening  the  range  of  languages  taught,  valuing  and  maintaining  the 
language skills of their citizens, and motivating them to learn more.  

•  Lifelong language learning is key to acquiring language skills: start early, sustain 
motivation  through  schooling  and  initial  training,  and  go  on  learning  languages 
throughout adult life. 

•  Informal  language  learning  should  be  better  exploited,  by  increasing  access  to 
multimedia,  virtual  or  physical  mobility  and  cultural  exchanges.  Learning 
languages in this way is effective allowing people to learn when, where and how 
they  like  and  enabling  people  from  different  backgrounds  to  communicate,  to 
discover and compare different mindsets. 

•  Local communities, service providers and companies should take into account that 
they  often  serve  citizens  and  customers  who  speak  different  languages  and  they 
should develop strategies to cater for their language needs. 

The added value of the new Communication will be: 

•  to sustain the efforts towards mother tongue plus two by giving clearer indications on areas 
and target  groups lagging  behind (students in vocational trainings, low-skilled adults and 
migrants) and less tackled by the previous Communications 

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•  to  anchor  multilingualism  in  the  wider  context  of  “Growth  and  Jobs  process”  by  raising 
awareness on the assets of linguistic diversity and on their effects on intercultural dialogue. 
In this context multilingualism is also emerging as a component of EU external policies, as 
recently highlighted by the Euromed Culture Summit.3. 

•  to  mainstream  multilingualism  in  relevant  policies  at  European  level  and  work  in 
partnership with Member States and stakeholders to ensure that objectives are shared and 
met at the most appropriate level 

Consequently the two general objectives of multilingualism policy are: 

(1) 

(2) 

to enable citizens to be fluent in two languages in addition to their mother tongue (in 
short: "mother tongue-plus-two") 

to  raise  awareness  of  the  linguistic  diversity  of  European  society  and  turn  it  into  an 
asset for intercultural dialogue and competitiveness.  

Coming  to  implementation,  the  first  operational  objective  will  be  to  ensure  that 
multilingualism  is  consistently  promoted  across  the  above-mentioned  European  policies, 
using  a  mainstreaming  approach  and  making  the  best  use  of  financial  support  available 
under existing European programmes. According to the subsidiarity principle, Member States 
are key decision-makers on these matters, while several stakeholders (educational providers, 
social  partners,  the  media,  local  authorities,  etc.)  are  essential  to  implementation.  Therefore 
the second operational objective will be to work in partnership with Member States and 
stakeholders  and  support  them  in  achieving  the  common  objectives  and  adopting  a 
mainstreaming approach at their level.  

Different options have been taken into consideration to achieve the objectives:  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

No  further  action  with  Member  States  and  no  strategic  use  of  EU  programmes 
(mainstreaming) 

Use of regulatory instruments (a Recommendation) 

Use  of  the  Open  Method  of  Coordination:  issuing  a  Commission  Communication 
paving  the  way  for  cooperation  with  Member  States  and  having  it  endorsed  by  the 
other  European 
in  current  EU 
Institutions.  Mainstreaming  multilingualism 
programmes and initiatives. 

DG Education and Culture, in comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the above options, 
has elected to propose option 3, which would enable the Commission – with the co-operation 
of  the  Member  States  and  the  stakeholders  –  to  address  the  identified  challenges  to 
multilingualism  and  find  appropriate  solutions.  This  option,  which  also  corresponds  most 
closely  to  Member  States’  and  stakeholders’  expectations,  complies  with  the  subsidiarity 

3 

Agreed Conclusions of the third Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Culture Athens, 29 – 
30 May 2008, ; Presidency Declaration at the Conference New Paradigms, New Models — Culture in 
the EU External Relations, Ljubljana, 13 -14 May 
http://www.mzz.gov.si/si/zunanja_politika/kulturno_sodelovanje/nove_paradigme_novi_modeli_kultur
a_v_zunanjih_odnosih_eu/.  

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principle,  and  would  provide  the  best  basis  for  raising  awareness  of  the  challenges  and 
problems and achieving real progress towards their solution. 

As for the way multilingualism should be promoted by Commission policies and programmes, 
the  option  of  an  expenditure  programme  for  multilingualism  was  discarded  because 
multilingualism is a transversal objective of very different policies (education, culture, media, 
employment, social inclusion, research...) and supporting them outside their natural contexts 
does not seem to be either appropriate or effective. Therefore the approach of mainstreaming 
multilingualism  in  relevant  Commission  policies  and  programmes  seemed  a  viable  answer. 
Chief  among  these  programmes  are:  all  strands  of  the  Lifelong  Learning  Programme, 
language  training  support  given  through  structural  funds,  language  integration  courses  for 
immigrants  supported  by  JLS,  Youth  in  Action,  Citizens  for  Europe,  Literary  translations 
supported  by  the  Culture  programme,  Media  programme,  Research  Programme  and 
Information technology. 

In  the  light  of  observations  made  and  considering  the  limited  scope  for  direct  action  of  the 
Commission, these are the economic and social impacts the chosen option is likely to have, 
depending on the determination with which Member States and stakeholders will implement 
the recommended strategy: 

•  Economic  impacts:  through  the  impact  of  language  skills  on  citizens'  employability  and 
competitiveness,  the  new  strategy  defined  in  the  Communication  is  likely  to  have  a 
positive  impact  on  international  trade  and  cross-border  investments;  technological 
development  and  innovation;  the  number  and  quality  of  jobs;  third  country  and  overseas 
relations. 

•  Social impacts: the strategy is likely to have a positive impact on social inclusion, as well 
as  governance  and  participation  since  language  skills  are  a  prerequisite  for  intercultural 
dialogue. 

As  for  costs:  at  Commission  level  the  implementation  of  the  actions  recommended  in  the 
Communication will not entail a budget increase. It is aimed at making more effective use of 
existing programmes to promote multilingualism, notably by ensuring: 

•  a  more  consistent  approach  (i.e.  pass  on  a  consistent  message  in  support  of  linguistic 

diversity, give attention to language issues in projects and initiatives) 

•  more  synergy  between  Member  States  (i.e.  support  them  to  achieve  shared  objectives, 

through Commission initiatives and the exchange of good practices).  

As  for  Member  States,  the  Communication,  in  line  with  the  already  agreed  EU  objectives 
such  as  the  Barcelona  target  of  "mother  tongue  plus  two"  will  recommend  general  and 
operational  objectives  and  suggest  ways  of  achieving  them,  while  the  implementation  will 
remain  the  competence  of  the  Member  States.  A  general  principle  to  be  conveyed  by  the 
Commission  Communication  will  be  to  recommend  that  action  is  taken  close  to  citizens, 
taking into account local language needs and pooling the resources of business, civil society 
and local authorities so as to use them in the most effective way. 

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Concerning monitoring, the already existing Inter-service Group on Multilingualism could be 
used  to  ensure  a  coordinated  approach  with  the  Commission  and  to  mainstream 
multilingualism  in  relevant  European  programmes  and  initiatives,  through  interventions  at 
programme  level  (thematic  priorities,  budget  for  linguistic  preparation  and  linguistic 
activities, adequate monitoring, etc.). Follow-up with Member States will be ensured through 
a Working Group of High Representatives of Member States, based on the existing Working 
Group on Languages. To maintain focus on multilingualism policy and to ensure a periodic 
review of its progress, the Commission will recommend that the European institutions devote 
an annual slot in their agenda to its discussion. In the case of the Council, it will suggest the 
inclusion of multilingualism in the rolling agenda of the Education Council.  

The  Commission  will  regularly  update  available  indicators  and  consider  the  possibility  of 
funding  surveys  of  less  charted  areas  (like  business  and  service  providers).  As  far  as 
mainstreaming  is  concerned,  the  Commission  should  ensure  that  language  issues  are 
adequately  taken  into  account  while  evaluating  relevant  EU  programmes  and  policies.  The 
Commission will encourage Member States and stakeholders to include language as an issue 
in  the  evaluation  of  policies  and  strategies  at  their  level.  The  Commission  will  carry  out  a 
global review of progress in 2012 and report to the European Parliament and the Council on 
the experience gained. To this end, Member States will be invited to report on their progress 
by end 2011. 

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