Advocacy and Lobbying in Brussels

Advocacy and Lobbying in Brussels Period July-October 2013 Advocacy work in Brussels has grown significantly over the past months for several reasons: a) the vote of a new motion on linguistic diversity in Europe b) the interest raised in Brussels by the idea of a European Roadmap for Linguistic Diversity announced by the NPLD under the Irish Presidency of the Council c) the wider network created over the course of the past months. In Annex I below you will find a complete list of persons and institutions contacted. The European Parliament is the institution with closer collaboration with the NPLD. After the approval of the motion on endangered languages on September 11, the NPLD and members of the EP Intergroup have met in Brussels to discuss the way forward. The MEP in charge of the motion, François Alfonsi, has already held a meeting with NPLD to discuss a common strategy EP-NPLD as a way forward in the promotion of linguistic diversity at the Parliament. It should be noted that the Parliament will hold elections in May 2014. Some MEP s have already begun their campaigns, with its positive and negative effects on the current work at the Parliament. Positive because they are defining the issues they will promote in the Chamber if they are elected and negative because they will start being busy with their campaign. This will also have effects on the European Commission as it will also change with the elections. This is why the NPLD is in permanent contact not only with the Commissioner s cabinet the more political side but also the Directorate General on Education and Culture the more technical side. The policy advisor has also corresponded with the European Commission regarding importance of including ALL the languages of Europe in their initiatives, projects of contests. For the 6 th consecutive year, the Commission launched the Juvenes Translatores contest aimed at encouraging young students to enter the world of translation. For the 6 th consecutive year, it was only for the EU official languages. The policy advisor drafted a letter to Commissioner Vassiliou explaining the importance and the need to adopt a more inclusive approach to linguistic diversity (see ANNEX II below). The advisor proposed that the NPLD be in charge of managing the translations written in non-official EU languages. 1

Council of Europe (CoE) NPLD s CEO and Policy Advisor have met with the Council of Europe official Joerg Horn on the Charter for Regional or Minority languages to learn the latest developments, the possibilities of ratification of the Charter by different EU States such as France and the way forward. The CoE has encouraged the NPLD to continue its lobbying at EU level as a mechanism to exert pressure on the states. Government (NPLD) Delegations to the European Union The Policy Advisor is in regular contact with different Delegations in Brussels with the goal of exchanging information, contacts, lobbying strategies and EU programme. The advisor has held meeting with the Welsh, Catalan, the Basque, and Galician representatives in Brussels and will continue to do so with these and other regional offices. The goal is to have regular meetings with all representations belonging to the NPLD to inform them about the NPLD s tasks and also to exchange information. This has proven to be extremely fruitful in terms of contacts and ideas. The European Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism The Policy Advisor has attended the second meeting of the European Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism on October 11, a platform launched by the European Commission whose main goal is to consult the Civil Society across the EU in order to submit a set of initial proposals to influence thinking at EU, Member State and regional level, and to help designing the financial instruments for the new generation of funding programmes. The issues discussed revolved around the new Commission programmes for the period 2014-2020. European and international organizations: Open Society Foundation and Migration Policy Group The Advisor has also been in contact with other European bodies such as the Open Society Foundation and the Migration Policy Group, two centres aimed at supporting minority issues from very different angles. The Policy Advisor was invited to attend the Migration Policy Group (MPG) stakeholder meeting which discussed the role of migrant languages in Europe s linguistic landscape and will 2

continue to advise the MPG on issues related to multilingualism and the inclusion of non-eu official and regional or minority languages in the broader debate on migration. Basque Cluster on Sociolinguistics NPLD, CEO and Policy Advisor met with Ibon Usarralde, Head of the Basque Sociolinguistic cluster to discuss possible avenues of collaboration. Mr. Usarralde thanked NPLD for their support in the publication of the work on Measuring Language Usage, which made possible the publication of the book. The Cluster is interested in joining the NPLD and sharing the work on the different aspects of sociolinguistics they are developing in the Basque country. CEO and Policy Advisor will explore potential avenues for collaboration, which will fit into the new line of action on Universities and Research Centres the NPLD is exploring at the moment. 3

ANNEX I Date Meeting Persons contacted 11 September Plenary Meeting in MEP François Alfonsi Strasbourg. Motion on Endangered Languages and Linguistic Diversity 11 September Alsatian Language Policy Isabelle Schoepfer, Board Jacqueline Lohner, Justin Vogel, President of the Alsatian Language Policy Board (OLCA) 11 September Council of Europe Joerg Horn, European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages 24 September Roadmap meeting with Jonathan Hill, with Deputy Commission, MEPs, Council Head of Commissioner of Europe Vassiliou MEPs François Alfonsi, Kinga Gal, Raül Romeva, Ramon Tremosa, Izaskun Bilbao Joerg horn, Council of Europe 25 September DG Justice. Nondiscrimination Thomas Ljungquist 25 September Basque Cluster on Ibon Usarralde Sociolinguistics 27 September Migration Policy Group Sarah Cooke O Dowd, Thomas Huddleston, Joe Shiels (former Council of Europe) 27 September Open Society Foundation Cristina Turci, Policy Officer Brussels on minority issues 11 October Civil Society Platform Kristina Cunningham, Head of 4

Multilingualism Sector on Multilingualism. European Commission 11 October Jonathan Hill Deputy Head Commissioner Vassiliou 11 October Annemarie Bruggink DG EAC. New person in charge of regional/minority languages 5

ANNEX II Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD) Ty Sophia, 28. Cathedral Road Cardiff CF11 9LJ, UK Commissioner A. Vassiliou 200 rue de la Loi (BERL 10/110) B-1049 Brussels Dear Ms. Vassiliou, The European Network to Promote Linguistic diversity (NPLD) is pleased to learn that the European Commission is celebrating the 2013 edition of the Juvenes Translatores contest, an original initiative which has certainly helped since 2007 to raise awareness about the importance of translation as a bridge between the cultures of the different peoples of Europe. On the European Year of Citizens 2013, NPLD believes that languages are all the more important as they are the key mechanism through which all European citizens, regardless of nationality or origin, can participate and contribute to the common well-being of Europe. The NPLD regrets to see, however, that the contest is only open to the 24 EU official languages. Spoken by some 50 million people, regional and minority languages represent more than 10% of the European population and despite not being official, the languages represented by the NPLD are also eager to participate not only in the Juvenes Translatores contest but also in the so-much needed new narrative for Europe. As the European network working to promote constitutional, regional, minority and smallstate languages, the NPLD would be happy to assist in future calls to ensure that our languages and therefore a good number of European citizens contribute to the construction of the collective imagery of our continent. United in Diversity is the EU s official motto. Together was the motto chosen in 2007 to best define what Europe had achieved over the years and what Europe wishes to be. The regional and minority languages of Europe, and the people they represent, truly believe in the ideas 6

these mottos convey and in a common European future. And it is precisely for this reason that our languages wish to actively participate in all the programmes and actions launched by the Commission. As pointed out by President Barroso, the new all-encompassing narrative should take into account the evolving reality of the European continent and highlight that the EU is not solely about the economy and growth, but also about cultural unity and common values in a globalised world. The NPLD is at your complete disposal to ensure that no language community, regardless of official status, is left behind. 7