This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Promoting multilingualism in the EU
SUMMARY OF:
Communication (COM(2005) 596 final) — A New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism
WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE COMMUNICATION?
The communication outlines the European Commission strategy for promoting multilingualism in the European Union (EU) and proposes a number of specific actions.
KEY POINTS
Multilingualism refers to both a person’s ability to use several languages and the co-existence of different language communities in one geographical area.
The Commission’s multilingualism policy has 3 aims:
This communication sets out various ways to promote language learning and linguistic diversity, including:
The Commission urges EU countries to:
Multilingual economy
The Commission proposes the following to develop the multilingual economy:
Translating and interpreting
Multilingualism and EU citizens
The Commission has a number of multilingual initiatives to help citizens understand their rights and how European legislation affects them. The Commission proposes to:
The Commission set up a High-Level Group on Multilingualism made up of independent experts, which produced its final report in 2007. In early 2008, a ministerial conference on multilingualism was held which allowed EU countries to report on progress and plan future work. Later the same year, the Commission presented a further communication proposing a comprehensive approach to multilingualism in the EU.
BACKGROUND
For more information, see:
MAIN DOCUMENT
Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — A New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism (COM(2005) 596 final, 22.11.2005)
RELATED DOCUMENTS
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment (COM(2008) 566 final, 18.9.2008)
last update 14.11.2016