Values and rights, rule of law, security
#TheFutureIsYours Looking after citizens’ freedoms
The Esperanto language community exists for over 130 years. It has created a diverse culture built on the cultures of its speakers. About ten thousand books have been published, some thousand Esperanto songs, there are some thousand native Esperanto speakers as well as several hundred people with Esperanto as their main language. Some million people have learned Esperanto.
Yet, for many years, representatives of the EU Commission have claimed that Esperanto has no culture, see e.g. https://t1p.de/EUofficial The EU Framework Strategy for Multilingualism has falsely claimed since 2005 that Esperanto has "no cultural references"; therefore, its use is not promoted. https://t1p.de/EUmultling This puts Esperanto speakers at a disadvantage.
Many professors, especially of English and French, have spread false information about Esperanto, even though they are not experts in Esperanto. https://t1p.de/linguists Contrary to this misinformation: Esperanto is a living language in daily use, with books, songs and native speakers; word plays in Esperanto do exist, and the language is constantly evolving.
Poland and Croatia have recognised Esperanto as a cultural asset, Austria maintains Esperanto culture in its national library, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has recognised Esperanto as a living language.
We ask the Commission to stop the defamation of Esperanto and to grant equal rights to Esperanto and Esperanto speakers according to Art. 20–22 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
