ELEN

European Parliament: Roundtable discussion on European minoritised languages. Tuesday June 2nd 15-17h
2026-06-02 15:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Brussels) | European Parliament, Rue Wiertz 60,, Brussels, 1047, Belgium
The event, hosted by Raquel Garcíá Hermida – van der Walle MEP and Oihane Agirregoitia Martínez MEP, will bring together Davyth Hicks Secretary-General of the European Language Equality Network, Anna Solé-Mena from the EU Commission DG Education and Culture, Minister Aitor Aldasoro from the Basque Government, and Minister Eke Folkerts from the Frisian Government.
The roundtable will focus on the protection and promotion of minoritised and endangered languages in Europe, current challenges, and opportunities for better cooperation at the European level.
The meeting runs from 15h-17h in Room ASP 5G1
The event will be webstreamed on this link: https://europarl.webex.com/europarl/j.php?MTID=m441246f16ac34cc85b989423dfdc7912
Meeting number: 2794 215 0214 Password: [REDACTED]
Minoritised language event Agenda
15:00 – 15:05 Opening remarks: Oihane Agirregoitia Martínez
15:05 – 15:50 Panel 1: Regional practice and added value
Objective: to demonstrate how minority languages in various European regions contribute to social cohesion, regional engagement and local development.
Format: Representatives from several regions will give brief presentations. Each speaker will respond to a set of standard questions to ensure comparability.
– Aitor Aldasoro, Deputy Minister for Language Policy of the Basque Country.
– Eke Folkerts Deputy minister of Friesland
– MEP Pascal Arimont
Key questions:
– What role does the minority language play in regional policymaking?
– In what ways does this contribute to social cohesion and participation?
– How does the minority intergroup of which Raquel is a member contribute to this?
15:50 – 16:00 Musical Intermezzo by Pieter Zijlstra (aprox 5 – 10 minutes)
16:00 – 16:45 Panel 2 Language policy
Approach: A panel examining policy, with a focus on feasible adjustments within existing EU frameworks
– Davyth Hicks, Secretary-General, European Language Equality Network (ELEN).
– Andrej Lavtar – European Committee of the Regions (Political Advisor in the Renew Europe secretariat of the European Committee of the Regions and former local councillor in Slovenia.)
– Anna Sole-Mena – DG EAC. Senior Expert, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.
Key questions:
– Why are minority languages often excluded from the core of EU funding?
– Which decisions regarding the formulation of the next MFF are relevant in this context?
16:45 – 17:00 Closing Remarks: MEP Raquel Garcia Hermida van der Walle

Language Diversity Forum, 17-20th June, Barcelona, Catalonia
2026-06-17 - 2026-06-20
Four days of debates, workshops and networking among experts, academics, indigenous and local communities from around the world, on language rights, linguistic justice, migration languages, education and the revitalisation of minoritised languages.

Organised by Linguapax in the frame of the Fosterlang project

Check the full programme, discover the key speakers and register here: www.linguapax.org/en/language-diversity-forum

ELEN ARD FHEIS Béal Feirste 2026, ÉIRE.
2026-11-20 - 2026-11-22
