Strasburg, MAy 13th, 1997 - "Mister President (...) I believe that there is a massive objection which the rapporteur attempted to calm by accepting one of the deposited amendments, yet I also believe that this is not enough. This objection regards linguistic communication. In a European Union which today numbers 15 members and eleven languages, and which tomorrow will include 25 members and 20 languages, I don't believe it is possible to continue pretending that a problem of linguistic communication does not exist; nonetheless, we confront problems of translation in this Parliament everyday, as we did today, with the English cabinet which "jumped." We are part of a closed world, which represents less than 1% of the European Union, and which speaks a second language and has the capacity to understand others, but it is also a world that does not realize that for the other 99% of the European Union

the problem of linguistic communication is real, and that when people move to other countries, go on vacation, or look for work in new places and situations, this represents a fundamental problem. I therefore believe that we can no longer close our eyes before this problem, and that we must approach the prospective we can offer to all citizens, and not only those who can afford to go to Oxford or Harvard to study a foreign language: that is the prospective of sharing a common language.

This is a taboo which must be broken; I say taboo because the concept of a neutral language is named Esperanto, which is an old invention that does not enjoy a good reputation, but which nonetheless represents the only way for a Union of 25 different nations and 20 languages to provide everybody, even those who are less favored, those who do not have the money to go to the United States or study in the best universities, the possibility to communicate with other citizens of the Union."

(Published by TRANSNATIONAL #12, May 27th, 1997

BULLETIN OF INFORMATION AND ACTION ON THE CAMPAIGNS OF THE TRANSNATIONAL RADICAL PARTY)