Language rights in the European Union and the Treaty of Lisbon

This paper examines the linguistic obligations of the European Union and the language rights of its citizens as stated in the Treaty of Lisbon. As with the 2004 draft of the EU Constitution, the Treaty fails to address the language rights of minorities, including those seeking to secede from their own countries (e.g., Catalonia, Scotland) in their quest for political, cultural, and linguistic rights. De jure language rights for speakers of minority languages and a more pluralistic approach to language legislation are deemed necessary in the EU.