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languages involved. We could say that it excludes the possibility of going backwards in
linguistic matters, although by itself it does not imply progress in the contents regarding
protection.
There are however two matters for which it is necessary to
study in detail the possibilities that the European Charter provides to enlarge the
present regulatory framework: on the one hand, in relation with Article 7.1.b) which
makes it obligatory to respect the geographical linguistic area avoiding administrative
divisions which are a hindrance to the fostering of the regional or minority language;
and, on the other, in relation to Article 14 (b) which legitimates the existence of a crossborder
linguistic cooperation at the level of local and regional authorities.
In fact, in view of Article 7.1.b) we may find enough arguments
to progress towards the idea of a sole linguistic authority for languages which are the
object of regulation in more than one Autonomous Community, or at least to perhaps
be able to speak of the necessary interautonomous cooperation in the protection and
promotion of these languages. Thus, in the case of the Catalan language, subject to
different autonomous regulations within Spain, as long as this administrative division is
a hindrance for the language, the Charter would oblige the removal or overcoming of
this hindrance, always taking into account the constitutional limit of the prohibition of
federation agreements between the different autonomous bodies.
Also as regards the agreements between substate bodies of
different states in linguistic matters, we understand that the Charter makes an
important contribution to the Spanish legislation by excluding this agreement of
linguistic cooperation from the prohibition of concluding international agreements by
Autonomous Communities on the basis of a rigorous constitutional interpretation of the
state reservation of international relations. Spain, by means of ratifying the European
Charter, expressly accepts this possibility, and from this moment on, the interpretation
of the central state’s exclusivity in matters regarding international relations will have to
be made more flexible with the possibility of international agreements in linguistic
matters between substate bodies.
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