According to Eurolang, a study entitled "Multilingualism: between policy objectives and implementation" has been presented to the European Parliament. The report criticizes the lack of progress made by the member states as regards the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, and recommends the Union to give its support to EBLUL, the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, one of the main international European organizations for the promotion of minoritised languages.

The study analysed the policies carried out by European agencies and member states within the context of the Commission Communication "Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity: An Action Plan 2004-2006", a programme aiming at promoting language learning and cultural diversity. The report criticizes the action plan "for being too complex and not tailored to Member States realities". As a consequence, within the period 2004-2006 only 30% of its provisions have been implemented.

Meeting of the Intergroup for National Minorities
A new meeting -the last of the term- of the Intergroup on minorities has been held this week in the European Parliament. Within the framework of the European Dialogue Forum of Traditional National Minorities, Constitutional Regions and Regional Languages, language policies of different member states were dealt with. Bernat Joan, secretary of language policy of the Catalan Government, spoke about the official status of Occitan, a language that, although only spoken in the north of Catalonia, enjoys official status within all the Catalan territory, Bernat Joan said that the experience has awakened interest among other similar cases in Europe, such as in Trentino -where Ladin is spoken- or Pomerania with the Kashubi language.

The Intergroup was formed in 2004 with the aim of promoting the rights of national minorities, developing of constitutional regions and stateless nations, as well as their minoritised languages.

Further information:

• Eurolang: European Parliament study on Multilingualism recommends EU reinstates support for EBLUL
• Linguistic Policy Secretariat of the Government of Catalonia: Bernat Joan ha participat en el Fòrum de política lingüística del Parlament europeu
• Declaration on the foundation of the European Dialogue Forum of Traditional National Minorities, Constitutional Regions and Regional Languages