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Language Rights and the Law in the European Union pp 9–23Cite as

Language Rights in the 2004 Draft of the European Union Constitution

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Abstract

This chapter analyzes the 2004 draft of the European Union Constitution which contains legal language defining the linguistic obligations of the EU and the language rights of its citizens. It shows that the 2004 draft fails to achieve language justice for European Union citizens who speak regional minority languages. These minority languages include Catalan, Basque, and Galician in Spain, Welsh in the UK, and others. The chapter argues that future drafts of the European Union Constitution should emulate the constitutions of countries that have a similar geopolitical make up situation to the one currently found in the European Union (i.e., countries that recognize the rights of minorities having or seeking autonomy within their territory) and draft specific provisions to protect the linguistic rights of such minorities; or draft linguistic protections similar to those enacted by countries that recognize the linguistic rights of individuals and groups as fundamental (e.g., South Africa). Future drafts of the European Union Constitution could pay heed to earlier pronouncements and bodies created by the European Union to support minority languages, such as the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (EBLUL) and the European Charter for Regional and Minority languages.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Language and Literature, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA

    Eduardo D. Faingold

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  1. Eduardo D. Faingold
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Correspondence to Eduardo D. Faingold .

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Faingold, E.D. (2020). Language Rights in the 2004 Draft of the European Union Constitution. In: Language Rights and the Law in the European Union. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33012-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33012-5_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-33011-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-33012-5

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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