THE European Union is gearing up to replace its “working language” of English as a new country takes over the presidency next year.
As the French government takes over the Council of the EU presidency for six months in 2022, the country hopes to push its language in Brussels.
It is the first French presidency of the council for more than 10 years.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
Officials are now working on plans to use a “French-first” approach to meetings and documents during the country’s six-month presidency.
A senior French diplomat said while English is commonly practised within the bloc, “the basis to express oneself in French remains fully in place in the EU institutions”.
“We must enrich it, and make it again so that the French language truly regains ground, and above that, the taste and pride of multilingualism.”
READ MORE: Estonia takes on presidency of the United Nations Security Council
They went on: “We will always ask the commission to send us in French the letters it wishes to address to the French authorities, and if they fail to do so, we will wait for the French version before sending it.”
Approximately 80% of officials within the commission speak French as a first, second or third language, according to statistics.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel