Based on Csaba Sógor’s initiative thirteen MEPs gave their signature to a minority languages rights question formulated towards the EC
Thirteen MEPs adhered to the question for written answer to the EC proposed by DAHR’s MEP Csaba Sógor on the 1st of July.
The signatories belonging to the three largest political groups in the EP (EPP, S&D, ALDE/ADLE) welcomed the EC’s initiative to establish European Journalist Award 2010 and recognized that the award has great potential to raise awareness during the European year of Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.
The MEPs were pleased to acknowledge that the award recognizes and supports journalists that contribute to the better understanding of poverty and social exclusion, but draw the EC’s attention to some deficiencies in the wording of the contest. „The competition criteria does not specify whether (or not) members of national minority communities can apply. Up to 10 % of the EU’s population is members of national and linguistic minorities. The stated criteria does not appear to ensure equal opportunities, and nor is it clear whether members of national minorities can participate in the competition” – said the signatories. In order to correct the deficiencies as soon as possible and in hope of receiving the required clarifications from the EC, they formulated the following questions:
„In the light of the above, under what circumstances could a Catalan, a Swedish-speaking Finn, a German-speaking Italian from South Tyrol, a Hungarian from Romania or Slovakia, or a Gaelic-speaking Scot — among others — participate?
How will the Commission ensure that applications submitted in the languages of national or linguistic minorities are considered on an equal footing in this competition?
In the spirit of the Lisbon Treaty, which prohibits discrimination against national minorities and languages, how does it intend to ensure that the competition will respect national or linguistic minorities’ right to equal opportunities?”
The document can be found on the following web address:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2010-3858+0+DOC+XML+V0//HU&language=HU
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The question posed by the thirteen MEPs was answered by Commissioner László Andor on July 28. Here follows the commissioner’s answer on behalf of the EC:
The conditions for entering the competition for the European Year Journalist Award 2010 specify that entries must be submitted in (or translated into) one of the European Union’s 23 official languages, Icelandic or Norwegian (29 countries comprising the Member States, Norway and Iceland are taking part in the 2010 European Year).
Members of national minorities who speak an official language of the Union can submit their articles in that language.
The Commission has developed a strategy to promote multilingualism in the EU which covers official, national, regional, minority and migrant languages. The communication ‘Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment confirms the Commission's support for all languages spoken in the EU, including those spoken by minorities.
It was difficult, however, to open the competition up to the high number of minority languages that are not recognized as official languages of the Union, because translating such submissions into a language understood by all members of the selection board would have called for additional human and financial resources.
As the budget for the 2010 European Year could not support that cost and in order to allow all journalists interested to take part, it was decided to accept articles written in minority languages not recognized as official languages of the Union, provided that they were submitted along with a translation into an official language of the Union. This condition will not prevent anyone from participating because journalists know at least one of the official languages of the country in which they live. Another important condition for participating in the competition is that all entries must have originally been published or aired in a media outlet based in one of the Member States, Iceland or Norway.
- The EC answer ensures equal chances for the journalists working in one of the 23 official languages of the EU. I am truly sorry for the journalists working in Catalan, Breton, Corsican, Occitan or any other minority or regional language that do not have the possibility of expressing themselves in an official language – said Csaba Sógor with regard to the EC’s answer.
The MEPs were pleased to acknowledge that the award recognizes and supports journalists that contribute to the better understanding of poverty and social exclusion, but draw the EC’s attention to some deficiencies in the wording of the contest. „The competition criteria does not specify whether (or not) members of national minority communities can apply. Up to 10 % of the EU’s population is members of national and linguistic minorities. The stated criteria does not appear to ensure equal opportunities, and nor is it clear whether members of national minorities can participate in the competition” – said the signatories. In order to correct the deficiencies as soon as possible and in hope of receiving the required clarifications from the EC, they formulated the following questions:
„In the light of the above, under what circumstances could a Catalan, a Swedish-speaking Finn, a German-speaking Italian from South Tyrol, a Hungarian from Romania or Slovakia, or a Gaelic-speaking Scot — among others — participate?
How will the Commission ensure that applications submitted in the languages of national or linguistic minorities are considered on an equal footing in this competition?
In the spirit of the Lisbon Treaty, which prohibits discrimination against national minorities and languages, how does it intend to ensure that the competition will respect national or linguistic minorities’ right to equal opportunities?”
The document can be found on the following web address:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2010-3858+0+DOC+XML+V0//HU&language=HU
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The question posed by the thirteen MEPs was answered by Commissioner László Andor on July 28. Here follows the commissioner’s answer on behalf of the EC:
The conditions for entering the competition for the European Year Journalist Award 2010 specify that entries must be submitted in (or translated into) one of the European Union’s 23 official languages, Icelandic or Norwegian (29 countries comprising the Member States, Norway and Iceland are taking part in the 2010 European Year).
Members of national minorities who speak an official language of the Union can submit their articles in that language.
The Commission has developed a strategy to promote multilingualism in the EU which covers official, national, regional, minority and migrant languages. The communication ‘Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment confirms the Commission's support for all languages spoken in the EU, including those spoken by minorities.
It was difficult, however, to open the competition up to the high number of minority languages that are not recognized as official languages of the Union, because translating such submissions into a language understood by all members of the selection board would have called for additional human and financial resources.
As the budget for the 2010 European Year could not support that cost and in order to allow all journalists interested to take part, it was decided to accept articles written in minority languages not recognized as official languages of the Union, provided that they were submitted along with a translation into an official language of the Union. This condition will not prevent anyone from participating because journalists know at least one of the official languages of the country in which they live. Another important condition for participating in the competition is that all entries must have originally been published or aired in a media outlet based in one of the Member States, Iceland or Norway.
- The EC answer ensures equal chances for the journalists working in one of the 23 official languages of the EU. I am truly sorry for the journalists working in Catalan, Breton, Corsican, Occitan or any other minority or regional language that do not have the possibility of expressing themselves in an official language – said Csaba Sógor with regard to the EC’s answer.
