Speaking at the European Parliament Plenary on 27 April 2006, the Education, Culture and Languages Commissioner Jan Figel said that, based on the reactions and advise received on the Commission's first communication on multilingualism (November 2005), he will present, in 2007, a further communication proposing a comprehensive approach to multilingualism in the EU. "We also plan to hold a ministerial conference on multilingualism next year in order to share the progress the member states have made and to plan future work," he continued.
The Parliament adopted in its Plenary on 27 April 2007 a report on the promotion of multilingualism and language learning in the EU and the creation of a European indicator of language competence. The rapporteur, MEP Manolis Mavrommatis endorsed the Commission views on the issue and highlighted that "in the enlarged EU, it is more important than ever that European citizens possess the necessary knowledge and skills to communicate effectively."
A Commission conference on regional and minority languages in education and training systems, on 27-28 April 2006, aims to encourage European co-operation and networking on the issue to exchange best practices, as the responsibility of implementing language learning is that of the member states, either at national, regional or local level. In general, this conference also considers regional and minority languages in the light of the current Commission policy on multilingualism aiming to encourage language learning and promoting a multilingual economy.
