The New Motto of the European Union: 'Unity in Diversity' and the Place of Turkish in 'Unity in Diversity'

In official documents, it is recorded that the European Union (EU) is founded on the principle of 'unity in diversity'. Respect for linguistic diversity is regarded as a core value of the EU. In the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, it is stated that the Union shall respect all linguistic diversity. Thus, the Charter prohibits all types of discrimination, including language discrimination. Turkish is the main language of 70 million Turkish citizens in Turkey, which is a candidate member country of the EU. Furthermore, at least four to five million Turkish speakers reside in EU countries. Turkish is also spoken by minority groups in member EU countries like Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and in the candidate member country Macedonia. Turkish language and culture have been a part of the European continent for centuries. However, in reality, EU regards Turkish communities residing in Western countries as 'allochthon' minorities, and the Turkish language as a non-European migrant language and/or a 'lesser used language'.