Declaration on
the citizens' communication rights and duties in a multilingual European Union

A. Background and challenges

The European Union is by definition a multicultural, multilingual and multinational Community of people. Non-discriminatory communication between citizens of different mother tongues is a crucial element of peaceful living together and of long-term political cohesion of this Union.

The common citizenship of the Union, the freedom to move and to settle within the territory of the Union, the right of every EU citizen to participate, among others, at the place of their main residence in municipal elections and the principle of non-discrimination on the ground of nationality require a non-ambiguous formulation of communication rights and duties of the different actors in this Union.

B. Objectives and options

Aiming to realise a space of freedom, liberty and justice in Europe, the Union's objectives like democracy and solidarity, equality and non-discrimination, efficiency and good administration, safeguarding cultural identities and protecting smaller linguistic communities have also to be recognised in the language use between people (communication) in their daily fields of activities and to be guaranteed in a constitutional framework of this Union.

Facing the different objectives, no single solution in communication does exist; democracy, solidarity, equality and non-discrimination require the recognition and possible use of all languages, efficiency and good administration are tending to use one common language, and the safeguard of diversity within unity requests at least two languages for communication, one common language for non-discriminatory inter-cultural and inter-ethnic communication and one foreign language for entering into the culture of one's neighbour or for the person's private or professional preference.

As long as a common language is a national one, it stands against the objective of equality and non-discrimination. Even a neutral and universal language model like a 'planed language' (1)) as a common language would require, at least, for safeguarding diversity in language instruction at school, the obligation of learning at least one other foreign language.

As long as the option: one common language for non-discriminatory communication is not decided on the basis of research and linguistic experiments, the concerned authorities on the European, national and regional level have the common responsibility to reduce discrimination in the field of communication to the absolute minimum and to support research and experiments for feasible solutions aiming to realise the objectives of equality and non-discrimination in communication between EU citizens of different linguistic background.

C. Principles and "Leitmotiv"

The principles to be applied for communicating within a multilingual community like the EU must be in coherence with the "Universal declaration of linguistic rights" signed in Barcelona in 1996 and with the provisions adopted in the "Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union" in Nice in 2000 (2)).

The principles applied as to language use and communication must be universal ones and have, in the first place, to guarantee to everybody the four major objectives in this multinational Union: Democracy, Non-discrimination, efficiency and safeguard of cultural diversity, in particular, as to public traditions and public heritage (3)).

Citizenship of the Union, as referred in Article 7 of the Draft Treaty for a European Constitution, is not only granting additional rights at the European level, but is also requesting additional duties, which in some national constitutions were unknown, as everybody was supposed to speak the same language. Such characteristic duties in a multilingual community with common citizenship are particularly linked to the right of free settlement and the right to participate in local election; for ex.:

• Every citizen of the Union has the right to travel, to work and to move freely within the territory of the Member Sates (article 45 of the Charter), but everyone has to accept, also in the field of communication, the legal and linguistic provisions that are applied at the place concerned. (Territorial principle)
• Every citizen of the Union has the right to vote and to stand as candidate, for example, at municipal elections in the Member States in which he or she resides under the same conditions as nationals of that State (article 40 of the Charter), but, at least, the one who stands as a candidate has to assure that he or she has integrated into the legal linguistic framework of the place, he or she is standing for as candidate, and, that he/she is going to respect the public traditions and official heritage of the concerned local community. (Principles of integration)

In general, the additional rights and duties introduced by the creation of the citizenship of the European Union have to be exercised by everyone according to the general principle and "Leitmotiv" of Emanuel Kant: "Treat your neighbour in that way as you want to be treated by him in the same situation!

D. Rights and duties in the fields of communication

Communication aspects between people of different linguistic background in a multinational Union with common citizenship, freedom of settlement and participation in elections have to cover rights and duties, at least, in the following individual, collective and public sphere.

1. Individual rights and duties in communication
   1. Everyone having the right to freedom of expression (article 11 of the Charter) and the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member Sates (article 45 of the Charter), can communicate in the language of his choice, but in the communication with public services and authorities, everyone has to conform with the legal and linguistic provisions that are applied at the place concerned.
   2. In the fields of private activities, everyone can communicate in the language of his/her choice, but, having the freedom to seek employment and to work in any Member State (article 15 of the Charter), everyone has to meet the professional requirements including the necessary linguistic qualification for communication requested for the job concerned; a selection on the criteria of 'mother tongue speaker' is generally considered as discriminatory.
   3. In the fields of professional activities, any citizen of the Union and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State (freedom to conduct a business; article 16 of the Charter) has the right to organise its 'internal communication' according to the criteria of rationality and efficiency, but, in the communication with public authorities, everyone has to accept the legal and linguistic provisions that are applied at the place concerned.
   4. Every EU citizen has the right to vote and to stand as candidate, for example, at municipal elections in the Member States in which he or she resides (article 40 of the Charter), and, the right to create a political party at the place of his or her residence (articles 12 of the Charter), but, at least, a candidate should have shown that he or she has integrated into the local community, in particular, as to his or her capacity in communication conform to the legal and linguistic framework of the place of candidature.
   5. Every person may write to the institutions of the Union (article 41, good administration), including the right to refer to the Ombudsman (article 43), in one of the languages of the EU Treaties and must have an answer in the same language, but persons and EU citizens (4)) with another mother tongue have to choose one of the official languages of the Union in order to communicate with the Institutions.
2. Collective rights and duties in communication
   1. Everyone has the right to create an association or party (article 12 of the Charter) and to use, for internal communication purposes, a language of his or her choice, but every political party has to respect the legal and linguistic provisions that are official at the place concerned.
   2. Every member of a political party has the right to freedom of expression (article 11 of the Charter) and the right to freedom of thought (article 10 of the Charter), but any party or democratic majority coming out of the election has to respect the official public traditions in culture, language(s) and religion at the concerned place, in particular, the fact that the legal and linguistic provisions in official communication of a municipality cannot be subject of revision, except the concerned (historic) language group(s) want(s) itself (themselves) to alter its (their) communication rights.
3. Public rights and duties in communication
   1. The external and internal communication aspects of public services and authorities in the Member States are subject to national, regional or local law. As general guideline for a person who is travelling within the territory of the Union or who has to get into contact with public service in Member States, the duties in communication depend on the legal and linguistic provisions at the place concerned and the rights in communication are largely based on the provisions of the treaties and conventions ratified by the concerned Member State in the field of language use.
   2. As to the European level, everyone has the right to read official and legal texts decided by the competent authorities of the Union in one of the official languages, and, every political representative in his official function at the level of the EU has the right to express him/herself in one of these languages and to ask for interpretation, if he/she needs it (external and political mandate aspect of the EU institutions), but, for internal communication, without prejudice to the institutional autonomy of each Institution, each of them has to organise the language use between its staff members on the basis of (a) working language(s) in conformity with the criteria like equality and non-discrimination, rationality and efficiency, as well as transparency and good administration. As long as the working language(s) consist(s) of a national language, discrimination on language ground between staff members exist as well as between EU citizens applying to work in these institutions.
   3. The competent authorities in Member States and at the Union level have the right to decide about a common language which fulfils the criteria of linguistic equality and non-discrimination not only for internal communication purposes but also for non-discriminatory inter-ethnic and inter-cultural communication, but, as long as such a solution on the basis of a universal language model (planned language) has not been scientifically examined, discussed and decided, the responsible bodies in the Member States and at the Union level have to investigate research into possible solutions, which treats staff members in the long-run on an equal footing, and, into feasibility studies while actively supporting scientific research and communication experiments in this field.
   4. The competent authorities in Member States have the right to organise their educational system and the method of language learning according to their respective priorities, but, without prejudice to their constitutional autonomy, communication could be facilitated between EU citizens of different cultural and linguistic background, if the instruction of the first foreign language at school would be based on a scientifically accepted common universal language model, which is logic and without exceptions and which can be used as a pedagogical instrument for quicker and better learning of the first foreign (target) language.
      Thus, as already decided by the Ministers for culture and education in the EU, every pupil leaving school in the future would have, at least, two languages (besides his or her mother tongue), as a "package for communication", one non-discriminatory (planned) language for inter-cultural and inter-ethnic communication, and, one foreign national language for private or professional use.
      Such an instruction method for language learning could also help local and regional language speakers to learn quicker and easier the common national language(s) and to communicate at the same time with citizens of other parts of the Union and the world.

E. Conclusion

At least major conclusions or principles formulated under point D. of this 'Declaration' could find a place in a constitutional treaty (for example, EU citizen rights, article 7) in order to inform every person travelling, working and settling within the territory of the European Union about his/her rights and duties in communication within this multilingual Community.

On behalf of the
" Working group on the language problem in the European Union"
and the " Forum for language rights and cultural diversity"
H. Erasmus and M. Cwik

Version: 6.5.2003

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(1) "Planned languages are language systems created by persons or groups of persons on the basis of certain criteria in order to make international communication more easy" (Eugen Wüster, 1931); examples are: Interlingua, Internacia lingvo/Esperanto, Ido, Novial, Glossa, latino sine reflexione;

(2) in particular, with articles like 11 (freedom of expression), 21 (Non-discrimination on ground of language or nationality), 22 (linguistic diversity), 40 (participation in municipal elections), 41 and 43 (correspondence with EU institutions and the Ombudsman), 45 (freedom of residence).

(3) like the official language(s) used within the municipality, its public feasting or official commemorating days linked to culture or religion.

(4) although the general provisions in the Charter on Fundamental rights guarantee, among others, 'equality before the law' (art. 20), 'non-discrimination on the ground of language' (art. 21), the 'Union's respect of 'cultural, religious and linguistic diversity' (art. 22).