As part of its efforts to promote mobility and intercultural understanding, the European Union (EU) has designated language learning as an important priority, and funds numerous programmes and projects in this area. Multilingualism, in the EU’s view, is an important element of Europe’s competitiveness. One of the objectives of the EU’s language policy is therefore for every EU citizen to master two languages in addition to their mother tongue.
In an EU based on the motto ‘United in diversity’, languages are the most direct expression of our culture. Linguistic diversity is a reality, observance of which is a fundamental value of the EU. Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that the Union ‘shall respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity’. Article 165(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) emphasises that ‘Union action shall be aimed at developing the European dimension in education, particularly through the teaching and dissemination of the languages of the Member States’, while fully respecting cultural and linguistic diversity (Article 165(1) TFEU).
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits discrimination on grounds of language (Article 21) and places an obligation on the Union to respect linguistic diversity (Article 22).
Regulation No 1 of the European Economic Community, which dates from 1958 and determined the languages to be used by the former European Economic Community, was amended following subsequent accessions to the EU. The regulation defines the EU’s official languages[1], together with Article 55(1) TEU. The provisions of the regulation and Article 24 TFEU provide that every citizen of the EU has the right to write to any of the institutions or bodies of the EU in one of those languages and to receive an answer in the same language.
EU language policy is based on respect for linguistic diversity in all Member States and on the creation of an intercultural dialogue throughout the EU. In order to put mutual respect into practice, the EU promotes the teaching and learning of foreign languages and the mobility of every citizen through dedicated programmes for education and vocational training. Foreign language competence is regarded as one of the basic skills that all EU citizens need to acquire in order to improve their educational and employment opportunities. In its contribution to the Social Summit for Fair Jobs and Growth held on 17 November 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden, the Commission set out the idea of a ‘European Education Area’ where by 2025, ‘in addition to one’s mother tongue, speaking two other languages has become the norm’ (see the communication on strengthening European identity through education and culture). The EU also works with Member States to protect minorities, on the basis of the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
A. Policy developments and support for research on languages
1. Supporting language learning
On 22 May 2019, the Council of the European Union (‘the Council’) adopted a recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages. In its recommendation, the Council invites the Member States to bolster language learning by the end of compulsory education, to ensure that more language teachers have the opportunity to learn and teach abroad and to promote innovative teaching methods using tools such as the European School Education Platform, which is also home to eTwinning.
2. Comparability of data on language competence
In 2005, the Commission published a communication on the European Indicator of Language Competence, which is an instrument to measure overall language competence in each Member State. The EU also promotes the use of the Council of Europe’s ‘Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment’. This tool was designed ‘to provide a transparent, coherent and comprehensive basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses and curriculum guidelines, the design of teaching and learning materials, and the assessment of foreign language proficiency’. It is now widely used in Europe and in other continents.
3. The European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe and the European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning
The EU works closely with two centres for research on languages, the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML) and the European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning (Mercator). The ECML encourages excellence and innovation in language teaching and helps people in Europe to learn languages more efficiently. Its main aims are to help Member States implement effective language teaching policies by focusing on the learning and teaching of languages and supporting dialogue, the exchange of best practices, and programme-related networks and research projects. The EU co-finances ECML projects to promote the linguistic integration of children with a migrant background and to establish quality and comparability criteria for language tests and their assessment. Mercator is mostly focused on regional and minority languages in Europe and works on the acquisition and inventory, research and study, dissemination and application of knowledge in the field of language learning at school, at home and through cultural participation.
4. European Master’s in Translation
The European Master’s in Translation (EMT) is a quality label for university translation programmes that meet agreed professional standards and market demands. The main goal of the EMT is to improve the quality of translator training and to encourage highly skilled people to enter the profession in the EU.
B. Action programmes
1. Erasmus+ Programme
Erasmus+ is the EU programme for education, training, youth and sport for 2021-2027. The promotion of language learning and linguistic diversity is one of the programme’s specific objectives. Erasmus+ Online Linguistic Support is offered to participants in mobility actions to help them to learn the language of their host country. Erasmus+ encourages cooperation with a view to innovating and exchanging good practices through partnerships in the area of language teaching and learning. The Erasmus+ programme also funds numerous projects to support the teaching and learning of sign languages, and to promote linguistic diversity awareness and the protection of minority languages.
2. Creative Europe Programme
In the framework of the Creative Europe Programme, support is provided for the translation of books and manuscripts under the Culture sub-programme.
3. European Day of Languages
Encouraged by the huge success of the European Year of Languages in 2001, the EU and the Council of Europe decided to celebrate the European Day of Languages every year on 26 September, with all sorts of events to promote language learning throughout Europe. This initiative is designed to raise awareness among the general public of the many languages spoken in Europe and to encourage them to learn languages.
4. European Language Label
The European Language Label is an award by the Commission designed to encourage new initiatives in language teaching and learning, to reward new language teaching methods, and to raise awareness of regional and minority languages. The award is presented to the most innovative language-learning projects, to people who have made the most progress in learning foreign languages and to the best language teachers.
5. Juvenes Translatores
Every year, the Commission awards the Juvenes Translatores prize to the best translation done by a 17-year-old pupil in each Member State. Pupils can choose to translate from and into any official language of the EU.
A. Linguistic diversity
As a preliminary point, it has to be noted that Parliament has adopted a multilingual language policy in its own communication strategy, meaning that all EU languages are equally important. Most parliamentary documents are translated into all the official languages and every Member of the European Parliament has the right to speak in their EU language of choice. Similarly, visits to the House of European History and the Parlamentarium (Parliament’s visitors’ centre) are available in the 24 official EU languages.
In its resolution of 12 June 2018 on modernisation of education in the EU, Parliament stressed the need to promote the teaching of at least two subjects through a non-native language at secondary school level and enhance language learning, so that students can successfully speak two languages in addition to their mother tongue.
On 11 September 2018, Parliament adopted a resolution on language equality in the digital age. In the resolution, Parliament called on the Commission to assess the most appropriate means to ensure language equality in the digital age, and to develop a strong and coordinated strategy for a multilingual digital single market.
On 19 May 2021, Parliament adopted a resolution on artificial intelligence in education, culture, and the audiovisual sector. The resolution is relevant to language policy as it emphasises the risks and challenges that AI poses for linguistic diversity. The resolution, however, also highlights AI’s potential to facilitate and encourage multilingualism through, for example, automatic subtitling and dubbing.
On 20 May 2021, Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2021/817 establishing Erasmus+: the Union Programme for education and training, youth and sport. As part of its Key Action 1, this programme includes linguistic support measures in the context of learning mobility activities.
Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2021/818 establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2021 to 2027) states that one of the objectives of the programme is to safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and to promote Europe’s cultural heritage.
In its resolution of 11 November 2021 entitled ‘The European Education Area: a shared holistic approach’, Parliament underlined the importance of learning foreign languages, in particular English. It underscored the need for Member States to take action to support the development of linguistic competency at all levels, especially in primary and secondary education, to embrace the Council of Europe’s goal of ‘plurilingualism’ and to achieve the benchmark of all pupils having a sufficient knowledge of at least two other official languages of the EU at the end of their lower secondary education at the latest. Furthermore, the resolution called on the Commission to develop tools to allow the Member States to implement the Council recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages, monitor progress accordingly and provide financial support for schools teaching European language skills, especially the native languages of EU citizens living in other EU countries. It also called on the Member States to collect comparable data on language learning.
B. Support for minority languages
On 7 February 2018, Parliament adopted a resolution on protection and non-discrimination with regard to minorities in the EU Member States. This resolution encourages the Member States to ensure that the right to use a minority language is upheld and to protect linguistic diversity within the EU. It advocates respect for linguistic rights in communities where there is more than one official language and calls on the Commission to strengthen the promotion of the teaching and use of regional and minority languages.
In its resolution of 17 December 2020 on the Minority SafePack, Parliament expressed its support for this European Citizens’ Initiative, which seeks to improve the protection of linguistic minorities.
C. Conference on the Future of Europe
In May 2022, Conference on the Future of Europe adopted the report on the final outcome. Within this report, plenary’s 48th proposal on ‘culture and exchanges’ states that the EU should ‘Promote multilingualism as a bridge to other cultures from an early age. Minority and regional languages require additional protection, taking note of the Council of Europe Convention on Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The EU should consider setting up an institution promoting language diversity at the European level. From elementary school onwards, it should be mandatory that children reach competence in an active EU language other than their own to the highest possible level. In order to facilitate the ability of European citizens to communicate with wider groups of their fellow Europeans and as a factor of European cohesion, learning of the language of the immediate neighbouring EU Member States in cross border areas and reaching a certifiable standard in English should be encouraged by Member States.’
For more information on this topic, please see the website of the Committee on Culture and Education.
[1]The 24 official languages of the EU are: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish.
Lina Sasse / Kristiina Milt