Article 2.1. of the [Andorran] Constitution decrees that Catalan is the official language of the State. The law regulating the use of the official language, of 16th December 1999, by means of the constitutional mandate, establishes the duty of the government to favour pacts and agreements with universities and other foreign organizations with the aim of guaranteeing the optimum global development of the official language, as well as the obligation to conclude agreements, treaties and pacts and take other actions in the international setting that promote the use of the official language.
A law, however, is only an instrument that makes a useful contributes to the aims of the legislator if there is a unity of interests and contributions from many different spheres. Governments are decisive in the application of specific policies, but so are academic institutions, associations, intellectuals, artists and figures of social importance. For this reason, in the noble task of promoting the heritage and identity of peoples, we must conceive of new initiatives and new focuses that open more doors onto the world through more interlocutors, bringing about greater expectations.
The joint declaration signed by the Government of Andorra, the Government of the Balearic Islands and the Government of Catalonia on the 17th December 2007 at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Cures is a response to this approach and the determination to further develop the legal mandate. All three signatories commit themselves to making joint efforts in the promotion abroad of the Catalan language – common to them all and an intrinsic part of their culture –, working towards the international projection of Catalan as a shared interest of all three governments, and solemnly declare that the projection of the culture of countries and areas in which Catalan is spoken need common instruments that guarantee its presence at the most important events and in international markets.
With this common aim, the decision has been taken to create a public foundation
with its institutional headquarters in Andorra, between the Government of Andorra,
and the Consortium of the Institut Ramon Llull, in accordance with the respective
legal frameworks and the following
