Western Europe Multilingualism and the protection of regional and minority languages are recognized political goals in Western Europe today. The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages set up a legal framework for language rights in Europe. Western Europe is one of the richest regions of the world. Germany has the highest GDP in Europe and the largest financial surplus of any country, Luxembourg has the world's highest GDP per capita, and the United Kingdom has the highest Net National Wealth of any European state. Switzerland
Western Market space to cope with its increasing workload. The old building of the Harbour Office was pulled down to build the North Block of Western Market. It operated as a food market until 1988. The building was damaged during the construction of Sheung Wan Station, and remediation works were undertaken afterward. Half the site was rezoned to facilitate a proposed widening of Morrison Street, which would have necessitated the building's demolition. In 1990, it was declared a historical monument and the renovated market building re-opened as "the Western Market" in 1991. Further refurnishment work was conducted in 2003. The four-storey building