EBLUL sets promotion of linguistic diversity at the IGC 2004 as a main

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Subject: EBLUL sets promotion of linguistic diversity at the IGC 2004 as a main 

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EBLUL sets promotion of linguistic diversity at the IGC 2004
as a main priority 


Press Release

EBLUL sets promotion of linguistic diversity at the IGC 2004 as a main
priority

Brussels 22.01.02 – In their meeting last weekend in Dublin, the Board
of Directors of the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL)
decided to set the promotion of linguistic diversity at the
Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) 2004 as a main priority in their
next work programme. EBLUL’s aim is to draft an article about
linguistic diversity and to promote its inclusion in the European
Treaties. ‘Europeans deeply respect
their own cultural heritage that differs from region to region. This
cultural and linguistic diversity is the real wealth of Europe and it
is time now that the EU protects this diversity’, says Bojan Brezigar,
President of EBLUL.

The goal of the Intergovernmental Conference 2004 is to deal with
further reforms aimed at promoting European integration, e.g.
delimiting responsibilities between the European Union, the member
states and the regions and also simplifying the treaties. A very
important topic on the IGC-agenda for linguistic minorities is
the point aiming to make the European Charter of Fundamental Rights a
binding law.  In its article 22, the European Union stresses that it
‘shall respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.’

‘Minorities do not request their languages to have the status of
official or working EU languages, but equal dignity and recognition of
their proper role. These languages are part of the European common
cultural
heritage as well as the official languages. Article 22 states exactly
this and, from a cultural point of view, it does not make a
distinction between languages,’ Brezigar comments.

Another priority of EBLUL is to provide a minority Internet portal in
the near future. The portal should be an extended and valuable source
of information about minorities in the European Union and the
accession countries. ‘People often do not know a lot about minorities
and in most cases they consider minorities as a negative issue of the
European society. Proper information about the languages, their
historical an cultural
role as well as of the contribution of these communities to the
European integration process would certainly spread better knowledge
about the importance of linguistic diversity as an essential part of
European culture. Such an Internet portal is also useful for
minorities themselves, because it will enhance exchange of
information, of experiences and of best practices’, Brezigar says.

EUROPEAN BUREAU FOR
LESSER USED LANGUAGES (EBLUL)
www.eblul.org

Rue Saint Josse 49
B-1210 Bruxelles

TEL: 0032/2/ 250 31 64
FAX: 0032/2/ 218 19 74

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