The Impact of Totalitarian Rule on Contemporary European Union Policy: The Case of Latvia and its Linguistic Divide

Abstract

CESAA 17TH ANNUAL EUROPE ESSAY COMPETITION 2009 - Postgraduate winner: Leigh Kamolins, Monash University The influence of multiple totalitarian regimes has resulted in the Latvia of today becoming a multi-ethnic society. The reinstatement of Latvia’s outdated 1922 constitution following independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, failed to deal with the demographic changes that had taken place under Soviet rule. Notably, protections for minority groups were given no constitutional, nor subsequent legislative backing. This was only partially addressed under the EU’s Copenhagen Criteria requirement on minority protections as part of the accession process. As the situation was not fully dealt with during accession, the language rights of minorities of Latvia continue to be impacted on. This article examines paradoxes in EU policy towards minority languages. It is argued that given this historic context, the current system of EU languages is discriminatory and unduly impacts on the linguistic rights of a large proportion of the Latvian and broader EU populace.