This book examines the language policies relating to linguistic rights in European Union law and in the constitutions and legal statutes of some European Union member states. In recent years, the European Union has seen an increase in claims for language recognition by minority groups representing a considerable population (such as Catalan in Spain and Welsh in the UK). Additionally, there is a developing situation surrounding the official use of English within the European Union in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. In light of these two contexts, this book focuses on the degree of legal protection afforded to linguistic groups in the European Union. It will be of interest to students and scholars of language policy, EU law, minority languages and sociolinguistics.

EU Language Law gives a comprehensive account of all language regulations and arrangements which currently exist in EU law. First and foremost, the book covers the various explicit and implicit language regimes of EU institutions, bodies, and agencies, explaining how and why they came about. It explores numerous other EU language provisions in the area of freedom, security, and justice, relating to quite diverse topics, such as road traffic offenses, recognition of national court decisions, the European Arrest Warrant, and crime victims. It also discusses EU linguistic provisions in the internal market regarding product labeling or the language proficiency assessment of professionals, such as medical doctors or lawyers seeking to provide services in other EU Member States. Many other issues, such as language testing for newcomers in society and language proficiency requirements for employment, are investigated. The book highlights an often neglected yet tremendously important aspect of EU integration: the language issue. *** Librarians: ebook available on ProQuest and EBSCO [Subject: European Law]

The European Economic Community, founded in 1957, consisted of six Member States with a combined total of four official languages. By 2004, this organization had evolved into a European Union of twenty-five Member States with more than twenty official languages among them. This increase has presented numerous challenges to the EU's internal linguistic regime, where formal policy has been, with some notable exceptions, to treat all of these languages equally. Some of these languages - English in particular - have been more equal than others. Languages that lack nation-wide official status in any Member State - such as Catalan and Welsh - have been overtly denied equal treatment. Furthermore, the multilingual nature of the EU has had significant implications for any Member State that wishes to regulate the use of language within its territory, as such regulation can interfere with the rights accorded to citizens of other Member States to participate in free commercial movement throughout the Union. Law and Language in the European Union - now in paperback - examines how, in the linguistic realm, the EU has responded to the tensions that lie behind this paradoxical motto.

After the accession of ten new member-states in 2004, the number of official EU languages increased from eleven to twenty. In 2005, the Council of the European Union decided to expand the existing legal framework for Irish and for other languages, such as Basque, Catalan and Galician, which are official in all or part of the territory of a given member-state. On 1 January 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, increasing the number of official EU languages still further. This book addresses the challenge of respecting linguistic diversity within the EU and is intended as an introduction to the issue for those not already familiar with EU law. It also provides an analysis of the potential of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to enhance respect for linguistic diversity. Each chapter has been written by a recognised expert in the field. The appendices bring together the basic legal norms relating to linguistic diversity within EU institutions.

The territory of the European Union is made up of a rich and wide-ranging universe of languages, which is not only circumscribed to the "state languages". The existence of multilingualism is one of Europe's defining characteristic and it should remain so in the constantly evolving model of Europe's political structure. Linguistic rights have been dealt with under Community law through various viewpoints. The linguistic regime of the European Union is essentially of a legal nature. As a consequence of the legal regime of the languages there is a graduation between them. The building of political and economic Europe based on the "state language" concept affects the European linguistic diversity itself. Nevertheless, the express legal recognition to the European linguistic diversity takes place in a new context: the context of the opening of the European Union to fundamental rights. The respect for the linguistic diversity is shaped as an aim of the Union, identifying a sphere of action. A sphere of action that has to materialise itself with specific measures. We will see if there is enough legal basis to say that linguistic rights do form part of the general principles of law. If linguistic rights are considered as general principles under Community law, when do they have to apply?

The European Community has pledged respect for the cultural and linguistic diversity of its Member States and has recognized minority languages as an inherent constituent in this regard. This development reflects a broader trend within the Community towards grappling with less obvious aspects of supranational governance. Minority language groups turn optimistically to `Europe' in response. But, despite rhetorical promises, just what can the EC actually be expected to do in the realm of minority language protection, a politically sensitive and traditionally domestic concern? Arguments put forward to date focus primarily on philosophical, moral, economic, and political discourse. While these considerations are a vital aspect of the debate on minority languages and on linguistic diversity more generally, the question of legal basis remains largely unanswered. For the first time, this book traces comprehensively the existence of an appropriate legal basis for action undertaken by the EC in this domain, striving in particular to locate a pragmatic yet effective balance between legitimate possibility and acceptable limitations.

What role does linguistic diversity play in European democratic and legal processes? Is it an obstacle to deliberative democracy and a hindrance to legal certainty, or a cultural and economic asset and a prerequisite for the free movement of citizens? This book examines the tensions and contradictions of European language laws and policy from a multi-disciplinary perspective. With contributions from leading researchers in EU law and legal theory, political science, sociology, sociolinguistic and cognitive linguistics, it combines mutually exclusive and competing perspectives of linguistic diversity. The work will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers in the areas of European law, legal theory and linguistics.