Debat i elaboració de la Carta europea de les llengües

Resum

As a representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the author actively participated in the making of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages which was passed by the Assembly in October of 1988. The difficult negotiating process that preceded the writing of the text is described, and the speech of introduction of the Charter that the author delivered before the Assembly is also attached, as well as Opinion No. 142, a statement giving support to the request of the Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and encouraging the Committee of Ministers to adopt the Charter. The contents of the Charter are discussed in detail, as well as the advantages that it entails as far as the different processes of linguistic normalization being implemented in our country. In this sense, the author underlines the importance of creating a document that contemplates the whole of European linguistic diversity; that does not mean a step back in relation to the different national legal frameworks; and that is compatible with the rights of the member states. The author points out that the Charter's objective is fundamentally a cultural one and that it refers to minority languages without touching the issue of linguistic minorities. The debate created around the subject of the obligations of the States is also discussed, as well as the adoption of a system of control that would supervise the adequate application of the Charter. In spite of such progress, the author warns that the Charter still awaits ratification by the Committee of Ministers and the states and that the text, even if passed by the Assembly, could still undergo further changes.