Tag: culture

With the decline of French language in EU institutions now accepted by most as irreversible, French lawmakers and officials have started pushing a more assertive approach, based on the promotion of multilingualism and influence rather than language issues only.

INTERVIEW / Just as the EU legislates to protect migrating birds and wildlife habitats, it should also protect its 120 or so endangered languages, argues François Alfonsi, a Corsican MEP who has prepared a parliamentary report that could name and shame European wrongdoers.

A world-renowned concert pianist was given a suspended jail sentence in Turkey today (15 April) for insulting religious values on Twitter, a case which has become a cause célèbre for Turks alarmed about creeping Islamic conservatism.

The leaders of the European institutions sent messages of congratulations to newly elected Pope Francis. Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina becomes the first Latin American to lead the troubled Roman Catholic Church.

A new translation engine that can cut faster through the rarefied vocabulary of Brussels technocrats in 23 European languages will be rolled out by the European Commission in July in an effort to cut costs.

Pope Benedict XVI's decision to abdicate was greeted with respectful tributes from EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Commission President José Manuel Barroso. 

Androulla Vassiliou, the European commissioner responsible for education and culture, has urged EU leaders not to cut the budget for culture. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

Three-quarters of French and 70% of Germans want their countries to harmonise tax and fiscal policy, according to an opinion poll carried out for the German Embassy in Paris. EurActiv France reports.

The majority of eastern Germans regard their western compatriots as "arrogant" and mostly interested in money, according to a new survey that highlights distinct east-west identities.

A system that made patent registration up to 60 times more expensive in Europe than in China is being scrapped in favour of a one-size-fits-all pan-European process. But Spain and Italy refused to join the scheme because of language concerns.

European Union job announcements should be published in all 23 official languages, EU judges ruled yesterday (27 November).

Separatists in Spain's Catalonia won regional elections yesterday (25 November) but failed to get a resounding mandate for a referendum on independence, which had threatened to pile political uncertainty on top of Spain's economic woes.

Slovakia, responding to requests from some fellow eurozone countries, has removed the halos from a €2 coin commemorating the 1,150th anniversary of the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Moravia.

Catalonia may be home to Spain’s second city, Barcelona, and one of its most prestigious football clubs, but there is evidence that support for pro-independence parties is on the rise ahead of regional parliamentary elections on 25 November.

Internationalised domain names (IDNs), which are seen as an essential building block for creating a multilingual internet, are growing in number, according to a new report.

Leaders of French-speaking nations in the Francophonie organisation OIF officially welcomed the Gulf state of Qatar as a new associate member this month, raising eyebrows in some quarters over the club's membership criteria. But OIF officials defended the decision, saying Doha had demonstrated its commitment to the French language.

The EU and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization have signed an agreement unprecedented in terms of its commitment to cooperation not only in education, science and culture, but also in press freedom and human rights.

Without a stricter Europe-wide approach to combat corruption in sport, one of humanity's oldest pastimes risks losing its value, concludes a recent EU-commissioned study by KEA, a Brussels-based consultancy. The think-tank Sport and Citizenship says illegal betting and the recent examples of match-fixing pose among the biggest threats. In the opinion of Philippe Kern, Europe needs stricter laws with new and better methods for prevention, detection and punishment to combat the problem.

An increasing number of students are taught foreign languages in European schools, according to a new report.

José Manuel Barroso, European Commission President, made an appeal against extremism yesterday (13 September), as demonstrators in Yemen and Egypt attacked US embassies, outraged by a blasphemous American film posted online. 

With one in five 15-year-olds and 75 million adults lacking basic reading and writing skills, Europe desperately needs to improve its literacy standards, says Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou.

Hungary’s tough political control of the media and cultural life has been strongly criticised across the European Union. However, a member of the Swedish nationalist political party Sverigedemokraterna (SD) says Hungary is a good example when it comes to how to politically shape culture.

Russia has reacted angrily to a recent gathering in Estonia of World War II veterans attended by the defence minister, saying Estonia was "glorifying" Nazi Waffen SS veterans. Talinn insisted that the event had “nothing in common with recognising Nazism”.

The European Commission has tried to respond to grumbling in the French press about the preferential use of English in EU institutions, saying it is doing its best to maintain multilingualism in the face of budget constraints.