Languages and Institutions in the European Union. Mercator Working Papers.

This paper situates languages in the framework of European construction, analyzing problems resulting from the definition of languages' official status in the European Union (EU) juridical system. It explains that the process of European construction is historically defined by means of two distinct features (it is an open process, and at the same time, it is an accumulative process). The paper looks at the system of linguistic officiality in the EU (the Council, the Parliament, the Court of Justice, and Ombudsman), then it notes that the question for many policymakers, officials, and journalists is whether the current system is sustainable at this stage of the EU enlargement process. After summarizing a 1995 Parliamentary resolution on the use of official languages in EU institutions, the paper discusses minority languages, which are not EU official languages. It concludes that since the European construction process is an ongoing process, linguistic vertebration will continue to be a provisional matter. It suggests that if Europe is going to be constructed based on diversity and liberty, then Europe will be a place of bilingual people. (SM)