Abstract :
[en] The intrinsic nature of language-power relationships has long attracted wide scholarly attention, particularly from the 1980s onwards. In addition to being assigned a classic communication function, language is also seen as a vital tool for demonstrating and exercising political power, that is, the collective power of ethnopolitical communities. This paper looks into the specificities of the language policies of the EU institutions, both codified and customary, which demonstrate power relations between English and German. The research is based on the legal-dogmatic method as it assesses current positive law, doctrine, concepts, practice, and scholarly literature addressing elements of language arrangements pertinent to the EU institutions, particularly the Council. Special emphasis is put on discrepancies between codified rules calling for equality of all EU languages and nurturing linguistic diversity on the one hand and daily practices endorsing linguistic imperialism on the other hand. The paper examines the evolution of language narratives in the founding treaties of the European Union, Council Regulation No. 1/58 determining the languages to be used by the European Union, the Council’s Rules of Procedure, the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, the Commission’s Rules of Procedure and other relevant documents, and compares them with European realities on the ground. Although the regulatory framework governing the work of the EU institutions is more or less clear regarding the equality of English and German, the power gap and language disbalance remain an ever-present element of the EU environment.
