As we all know, Europe is a continent where languages and identities have thrived for centuries complimenting each other. This diversity is a shared treasure that we must foster and take care of as one of the pillars of the European project. However, many of these languages do not receive the treatment that they should, either with no official recognition and facing discrimination from governments and institutions, both at state and European levels, or with little to no attention to the recent laws and policies that protect them.
According to the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, we find more than 60 minority languages ranging between 40 and 50 million speakers. Yet, multiple from them find themselves at high risk of disappearing if urgent action is not taken. This is not due to the natural course of things, but the result of decades of centralistic and assimilationist policies that have bestowed officially recognised languages utter privilege, hindering the public use and the institutional adoption of these European-native languages.
This imbalance is reinforced by the fact that the European Union only recognises as official languages those that have the status of state officiality, leaving dozens of living languages outside its legal and symbolic framework, even if these languages enjoy some type of state recognition as in the case of Valencian in the Valencian Country. This means that millions of people cannot use their mother tongue in European institutions, being excluded from a fundamental linguistic right.
It is extremely alarming that there are no binding legal mechanisms in the European Union that require the assessment of the impact of policies from different institutional levels of European states on minoritised languages. This means that laws, bills, directives, and rules can be approved without considering whether they benefit or harm the situation of historically oppressed languages.
For instance, we consider of the utmost importance that the European Union acts against laws and policies that further contribute to the disappearance of minoritised language, such as the recently passed new law of education in the Valencian Country that features a voting system on the main language of teaching in schools specifically designed to always favour Spanish against Valencian, when there was no sign of social demand for it - especially after decades with a system that for the most part catered to the needs of the Valencian society.
There is an urgent need for decisive action from European institutions to protect linguistic diversity and to ensure the survival, transmission, and normalisation of all languages spoken within the territory of the Union. Linguistic justice cannot continue to depend on state recognition or the will of central governments.
Only by doing so will we be able to progress towards a democratic and cohesive Europe where Valencian as well as other minority or minoritised languages are given the importance they deserve. Given this reasoning, we propose that EFAY passes this motion and works toward the following points:
1. Recognition and protection: We demand the official recognition of all minoritised languages of the European Union as a common European heritage, and we request that it consequently makes sure that all its members guarantee their protection at every level.
2. Specific legislation: We urge the European Parliament and the European Commission to draft a specific directive for the protection and promotion of minoritised languages, with economic resources and concrete measures to foster their social and institutional use, and to ensure that no backtrack in minority language legal coverage takes place, such as in the case of Valencian.
3. Rejection of the recent Education Law in the Valencian Country: We strongly reject the passing and implementation of the so-called Law for Linguistic Freedom in the Valencian Country and denounce its negligent and unfair application after the results of the voting.
4. Cross-sectoral application: We ask that, in legislations approved by the European Union or different institutional levels of member states, the impact on minority and minoritised languages be taken into account, especially in areas such as education, culture, the media, and public administration.
5. Institutional respect: We request that European institutions adopt inclusive linguistic protocols that respect linguistic diversity and allow the use of minoritised languages in their communications and interventions, as well as taking action when possible in the case that European states or regions pass policies that harm these languages.
6. Support of local institutions: We call for the strengthening of support mechanisms for local and regional institutions that work in the promotion of their languages, ensuring cooperation and adequate budgetary allocation.