Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-14-Speech-2-430"
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"en.20061114.40.2-430"2
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".
I doubt whether adding another 60 languages to the 21 European Union official languages will achieve the goal of true multilingualism espoused by the rapporteur, since it is not possible to give equal weight to the role of the Welsh and the Russian languages. Experience shows that languages which are used more widely and in a more economically active way ‘devour’ small ones. Just let us imagine that Russian were to become an EU official language. I am almost certain that we would not have long to wait before Latvian and Estonian would no longer be used in general, not only in the European Union, but even in Latvia and Estonia. Before we tackle multilingualism throughout Europe, we ought to set an example in Parliament itself. How much motivation do interpreters have to learn the languages of small Member States? How long will we have to wait before, when you arrive at Strasbourg, the heart of Europe, the border guard speaks to you in a language other than French? I am convinced that we need to begin by strengthening the official languages of the small EU Member States, leaving minority languages policies to the Member States to deal with. In the future, the European Union will continue to be a union of states and not of ethnic groups. Thank you."@en1
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