Strasbourg, 28.09.2022 – In a report on Switzerland published today, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) recommends as a priority that the authorities adopt cantonal and/or local legislation on the use of the French and German languages in public life in the municipalities where they are non-official minority or majority languages, and take additional measures promoting the use of the Italian and Romansh languages in economic and social life.

On a general note, the report welcomes the financial assistance provided by the federal authorities to the cantons of Bern/Berne, Fribourg/Freiburg, Graubünden/Grischun/Grigioni and Valais/Wallis for their measures in connection with multilingualism. It also underlines that Switzerland complies with all of the Charter undertakings regarding Italian in the Canton of Ticino.

While Italian and Romansh are used as a medium of instruction at all levels of education, the report notes that delays occur in the publication of educational materials, but also that new educational materials for Italian are currently being developed.

Italian and – to a quite limited extent – Romansh are used before courts. While the use of Italian by the cantonal administration of Graubünden/Grischun/Grigioni has improved, shortcomings persist in using this language on institutional websites. Positive developments covered by the report include a new coordination unit ("Multilingual Administration”) set up to support the cantonal administration and municipalities and an action plan to promote Italian and Romansh.

Moreover, Italian and Romansh are used on public radio and television as well as in the press. Romansh is also used in private television and radio programmes, but there is no private radio station broadcasting exclusively in Romansh as required by the obligation. The report welcomes the creation in 2020 of the state-funded Fundaziun Medias Rumantschas whose task it is to provide the Romansh media with journalistic content in Romansh. The report suggests the creation of a private radio station in Romansh and measures encouraging Romansh speakers to use their language before judicial authorities.

In addition, there is a diversified offer of cultural activities in Italian and Romansh in Graubünden/Grischun/Grigioni. Cultural activities in these languages have also been organised in other cantons, but additional activities are needed to promote the use of Italian and Romansh in economic and social life.

Concerning German, the report recommends to make available German language education from pre-school to secondary levels for those municipalities where German is a non-official minority or majority language, in addition to the adoption of cantonal and/or local legislation on the use of German in public life in the municipalities where German is a non-official minority or majority language.

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages entered into force in Switzerland in 1998 and applies to Italian and Romansh as less widely used official languages. Furthermore, it applies to French and German in territories where they are traditional minority languages, as well as to Yenish as a non-territorial language.

This eighth evaluation report by the Committee of Experts is based on the political and legal situation prevailing at the time of the Committee of Experts’ on-the-spot visit to Switzerland in May 2022.

The evaluation report has been published together with comments from the authorities.