Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-03-Speech-2-240"
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"en.20030603.7.2-240"2
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".
In reply to Mr Posselt, I would like to say that the definition of minority and regional languages used by the European Commission is that established by the Council of Europe in its European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. What we mean by a regional or minority language is, and I quote, a language ‘traditionally used within a given territory of a state by nationals of that state who form a group numerically smaller than the rest of the state’s population, and different from the official language(s) of that state’. This definition therefore encompasses many languages that are minority languages in one country but majority languages in another.
As regards the promotion of minority and regional languages within the Union, the Commission finances the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages as well as the Mercator research centres. Their 2003-2004 work programme includes measures to provide information on European policy in the areas in question to the future members of the Union. Meetings are held on this issue, such as the Bolzano Conference of 26 and 27 May on the topic ‘Best practice in promoting linguistic diversity in an enlarged Europe’.
The European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages has also begun to work on the establishment in the new Member States of national committees representing linguistic minorities, along the lines of similar committees existing in the current 15 Member States of the Union. It must be said that the future members already have the same opportunities as the Fifteen as regards minority and regional languages, namely the funding of initiatives through the existing programmes. Some of the programmes involved – Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci – are also open to all of the candidate countries. Finally, the Euromosaic study on the production and reproduction of the minority language groups in the European Union will be extended to the new Member States.
The new Member States have also been invited to participate in public consultations that have been launched by the Commission as part of the preparations for an action plan for language diversity and learning, which will be presented to the Council and Parliament in July, in the context of the analysis of the new generation of Leonardo, Socrates and Youth programmes. All linguistic minorities, including those whose language is a majority language in other Member States of the enlarged Union, have been able to take part in these consultations."@en1
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