Europe is a melting pot of different ethnicities that have settled in various parts of the continent since man first set foot on European soil.   Natural and political factors, including wars, famines, expulsions and religious conflicts, also led to large scale internal migration within Europe ever since.

On the one hand, these re-occurring migration movements led to the emergence of a relatively homogenous European society; on the other hand, different languages still prevailed in different parts of the continent.

With the emergence of modern nationalism language became increasingly the identity forming factor within a state. Until the French Revolution the term "nation" was mostly associated with a sovereign, a geographical area or people's religious affiliation. In the 19th and 20th century the term nation was increasingly used to define a group of people that spoke one particular language.   

The 19th and 20th century therefore saw the emergence of what is frequently termed as the "nation state". A nation state is a state that is called after one particular language group and where the identity of the citizens is closely tied to the language the majority speaks.

However, as modern nation states required clearly defined frontiers, conflict emerged between linguistic groups, particularly in regions where more than one language was traditionally spoken. All European Wars since the middle of the 19th century, including the Franco-German War, the First Balkan War, the First and Second World Wars, and the recent Second Balkan War, find their roots in territorial disputes between nation states. Although Europe's population is largely homogenous from an ethnic, cultural and social point of view, the relationship between the states continues to be burdened by enormous distrust and prejudice as a result of these territorial conflicts and the experience of war, occupation, assimilation and expulsion.

The European Union is an attempt to overcome conflict between nation states and create a unifying European identity that is inclusive of all Europeans, not exclusive, as is the case in largely mono-linguistic nation states. The European Union emerged in response to the terror of War that riddled the continent in the first half of the twentieth century. It is a project of peace, unity and economic prosperity.

A European Linguistic Heritage Act is of vital importance to overcome tension between the nation states of Europe, and is therefore an essential component of any future European Union. There will not be a functioning European Union based on mutual trust and respect without the full recognition of our linguistic heritage.

Following are the key benefits of this proposed law:

• Stateless languages will, for the first time, be formally and officially recognised on all levels of government.
  
  
• Regions in Europe that have a strong sense of self identity will be able to achieve greater autonomy within the state they are located in, which will allow their citizens to celebrate their unique identity and heritage on a political and social level.
  
  
• The nation states of Europe have been largely biased in the treatment of their linguistic heritage. Uniform standards across the EU will create a more inclusive European society.
  
  
• The proposed Act contains all aspects of "best practice" international minority language protection standards- what I call the three pillars of linguistic heritage protection.
  
  
• Pillar 1: The right to use a native language in all communication on all levels of government.
  
  
• Pillar 2: The right to education in the native language
  
  
• Pillar 3: The right to topographic and other signage in the native language
  
  
• The proposed Act also protects the historic linguistic heritage in areas where a language is in danger of extinction due to assimilation, ethnic cleansing and expulsion. Many European states have a history of assimilation, ethnic cleansing and expulsion. They now deny language rights as the number of speakers has decreased to very low levels.
  
  
• The Act recognises the Jewish heritage of Europe, once integral part of European society, destroyed under the Nazi regime, and virtually non-existent today. The same applies to the Roma of Europe.
  
  
• The law would enable a very extensive level of autonomy for Kosovo within Serbia and would also ensure the protection of Kurdish heritage in a possible future member state Turkey. The Act will also safeguard the rights of post War expellees, like the Poles of former Eastern Poland, the Germans of former East Germany and former Czechoslovakia, Hungarians of Southern Slovakia, the Serbs of Kosovo, the Croats/Serbs of Serbia/Bosnia/Croatia.