The ELDR Party Congress,
Considering that:

• Since its foundation by the Treaty of Rome, the European Union has recognised the unrenounceable character of linguistic and cultural diversity which characterises the old continent and, as a consequence, the legal value of multilingualism which is its base;
• Throughout the last fifty years this value has been constantly repeated at each Union enlargement, and subsequently defined in linguistic, pedagogical and communication policies. It is seen, for example, in the Presidency Conclusions of the Lisbon European Council of 23rd and 24th March 2000 and Article 22 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted on 7th December 2004 and finally, with the last enlargement involving the countries of Eastern Europe, in the establishment of a Commissioner for Multilingualism;
• Despite efforts among the institutions of the Community, and even single Member States, the state of multilingualism in educational systems, in businesses and in societies which belong to the Union, as reported by Member States and international organisations such as UNESCO, indicate some doubts regarding the efficacy of European strategy in this field. According to the report "Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe" published in November 2004 by Eurydice, "English is the most taught language in virtually all countries … Around 90% of pupils in upper secondary education learn English, regardless of whether or not this is compulsory". Moreover, the report notes that whether it is the first, second or, where it is taught, the third foreign language, "in the great majority of European countries, pupils learn first and foremost – indeed almost exclusively – major languages used on a broad scale";
• Finally, UNESCO itself has for many years denounced "the danger which menaces linguistic diversity due to communication globalization and to the tendency of using a unique language, with the risk of marginalizing other great languages of the world and even extinguishing other less spread languages, starting with the regional ones". The UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing estimates that around 60% of European languages are at risk of disappearing in the future;

Commits the ELDR Party to support:
The convocation of the first "European Conference on policies and instruments for the management of linguistic diversity in Europe", open to all associations active in the language field and of which the objectives are:

• the evaluation of the efficacy, with respect to established objectives, of linguistic policies so far achieved at European and single Member State level;
• the detection, modification or reform of proposed linguistic policies in order to make them more effective or at least correct and balanced for all citizens of the Union.