Diversitat i llengües menys difoses a la Unió Europea: un estat de la qüestió

Abstract

After the latest enlargement of the European Union and the increase of the number of languages recognized as being official, this paper raises the question of the current situation of the other languages, those that are not official, as well as the outlook for their future within the Union. In this regard, special attention is paid to the situation of Catalan. First, however, the international regulatory framework of reference as regards minority language rights is presented. Then, the regulation of the general European Union language regime is examined and, afterwards, the paper deals with the modulation experienced by this regime during the ordinary operation of the different European institutions, together with the effects of treaty languages, some of which, under the Treaty establishing the European Constitution, have been broadened to include non-official languages. In trying to take stock of the language policy of the Union, the paper focuses on the expression “language diversity” (or, more recently, “multilingualism”), which is used recurrently in community proceedings, regulations and resolutions to adopt specific measures of protection and promotion for the different languages of the Union. The expression, however, entails a certain degree of legal uncertainty, to the extent that it does not sufficiently clarify which language groups are the target of these measures. Finally, the paper highlights a series of recent actions that directly affect the possibility of invoking Catalan and other languages different from Spanish that have an official status within a country, in some of the European institutions (presumably, in practically all of them in the not too distant future). Such actions would allow the official use of these languages within different limits or levels and under specific conditions (written presentations, speeches and translations and publication of some legal texts). Some critical considerations are, however, brought up with regard to the recognition of this new and improved status of Catalan in the European Union, based on the fact that Catalan has an extrajudicial character and this situation is not definitively resolved in a totally satisfactory manner.