O. whereas Article 167 of the Lisbon Treaty clearly states that "the Union shall contribute to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity", and therefore encourages action intended not only to preserve and safeguard the richness of the Union’s linguistic heritage as part of its diversity, but also to take a step forward in enhancing and promoting this heritage in addition to Member States' policies;

1. Calls on the European Union and the Member States to be more attentive to the extreme threat that many European languages, classified as endangered languages, are experiencing, and to commit wholeheartedly to the protection and promotion of the unique diversity of the Union's linguistic and cultural heritage by deploying ambitious proactive revitalisation policies for the languages concerned and by dedicating a reasonable budget to this aim; recommends that these policies should also aim at developing a broader consciousness among EU citizens of the linguistic and cultural richness these communities represent; encourages Member Stat ...[+++]es to produce action plans for the promotion of endangered languages based on shared good practices which are already available within a number of language communities in Europe;

23. Notes that digitalisation may be one way to prevent languages from dying out; urges, therefore, local authorities to gather together and place online books and recordings in those languages, as well as all other manifestations of linguistic heritage;

It shall respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity, and shall ensure that Europe's cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced.

In addition to these two central measures, the European Parliament considers that a global approach to promoting linguistic diversity and language learning, and to preserving our linguistic and cultural heritage, including that of Europe's regional and minority languages, requires the following measures.

(63) The adoption of this Directive will not prevent the Member States from taking into account the various social, societal and cultural implications which are inherent in the advent of the information society; in particular it should not hinder measures which Member States might adopt in conformity with Community law to achieve social, cultural and democratic goals taking into account their linguistic diversity, national and regional specificities as well as their cultural heritage, and to ensure and maintain public access to the widest possible range of information society services; in any case, the development of the information so ...[+++]ciety is to ensure that Community citizens can have access to the cultural European heritage provided in the digital environment.