Call for support for MEP Bernat Joan's Multilingualism Report

[Harold F. Schiffman]

 Restored Multilingualism Report Set For Plenary Vote
{http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2757&Itemid=1&lang=en}


The Greens EFA group met yesterday to hammer out their plans and agree on
amendments as the Plenary vote draws near on MEP Bernat Joan’s
Multilingualism Report. The Report was strongly represented by European
Parliament Vice-President, Gérard Onesta, who proposed Bernat Joan’s
amendments which largely restore the Report to its pre-Committee state,
along with the proposals which have already gone through for an EU
language plan and for collective language rights.

Speaking to Eurolang after the meeting Mr Onesta said: "More than ever,
the defence of cultural diversity is the keystone to the construction of
Europe. It is not a mere decoration in any way, it is a key part of its
structure : if we withdraw from it's defence, everything collapses."
Eurolang is calling on all of our readers who support meaningful
linguistic diversity to support Bernat Joan's Report and the EFA /Green
amendments by e-mailing or phoning your MEP. The vote is scheduled for
Tuesday 14th November at 12.00 at Strasbourg.

List of MEPs
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public.do?language=en
{http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public.do?language=en}

Post Committee version of the Report, see A6-0372/2006 in 20
languages

 The agreed Greens / EFA amendments in full:
 Calls upon the Council/Commission:
 1. To establish a working group to be set up to work towards the
modification of the EU Treaty Arts 13, 139 and 141 so as to give a
legal base to the concept of 'respect for linguistic diversity' and
the protection of stateless and national minority languages.
 2. To ensure that the new Agency for Fundamental Rights has an
explicit mandate to act in cases of discrimination on the grounds of
language so as to fulfil the criteria set out in the Charter for
Fundamental Rights;
 3. To ensure that the EU Ombudsman's role is extended to act over
cases of language based discrimination;
 4. To ensure that the Ebner Report is implemented in full, part of
which called for the establishment of an Agency for Linguistic
Diversity and/ or Multilingualism;
 5. To ensure that NGOs such as EBLUL and the Mercator Centres
continue to be funded and that the most endangered languages receive
project funding.

Other news

South Tyrolean Parliament rejects abolition of fascist place names
{http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2756&Itemid=1&lang=en}
 A parliamentary motion by the Union for South Tyrol (Union für
Südtirol-UFS) to abolish certain Italian place names in South Tyrol
has been rejected by the provincial parliament (Landtag) on Tuesday
(7th November).

TG4, the Irish language TV channel, celebrates 10 years


{http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2754&Itemid=1&lang=en}Please
do not hesitate to contact us for further information.

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