The English language may be one of the casualties of Brexit as it
emerged that no state other than the UK has registered it as a primary
language among the 28 countries within the European Union.
English has been the top choice for European Union (EU) institutions but Britain's vote to leave the union last week could trigger a ban on its use.
"We have a regulation where every EU country has the right to notify one official language," Danuta Hubner, the Polish MEP or Member of European Parliament who heads the European Parliament's constitutional affairs committee, told a press conference in Brussels on Monday.
"The Irish have notified Gaelic and the Maltese have notified Maltese, so you have only the UK notifying English," she said in reference to the fact that English is in everyday use in member countries Ireland and Malta.
Hubner said that although English was the "dominant language" used by the EU civil servants and MEPs, in legal terms "if you do not have the UK, you do not have English", 'The Times' reported.
Regulations would have to be changed to retain the language, requiring a unanimous vote from the 27 remaining states.
The EU has 24 official languages but for daily business, the European Commission and council of ministers use English, French and German
EU documents and legal texts are translated into all 24 official languages of the bloc.
If English were to lose that status, Britons would have to do the translation themselves.
Note
The European Commission (EC) is the 'engine room' of the EU. It is one of 3 main EU institutions; the other two are the European Parliament (EP) and the Council (of the European Union).
The EC prepares legislation for adoption by the Council (representing the member countries) and the Parliament (representing the citizens).
EC administers the budget and the policy programmes (Agriculture, Fisheries, Research etc.) in cooperation with authorities in the member countries.
The EC also services the 28 EU Commissioners.
English has been the top choice for European Union (EU) institutions but Britain's vote to leave the union last week could trigger a ban on its use.
"We have a regulation where every EU country has the right to notify one official language," Danuta Hubner, the Polish MEP or Member of European Parliament who heads the European Parliament's constitutional affairs committee, told a press conference in Brussels on Monday.
"The Irish have notified Gaelic and the Maltese have notified Maltese, so you have only the UK notifying English," she said in reference to the fact that English is in everyday use in member countries Ireland and Malta.
Hubner said that although English was the "dominant language" used by the EU civil servants and MEPs, in legal terms "if you do not have the UK, you do not have English", 'The Times' reported.
Regulations would have to be changed to retain the language, requiring a unanimous vote from the 27 remaining states.
The EU has 24 official languages but for daily business, the European Commission and council of ministers use English, French and German
EU documents and legal texts are translated into all 24 official languages of the bloc.
If English were to lose that status, Britons would have to do the translation themselves.
Note
The European Commission (EC) is the 'engine room' of the EU. It is one of 3 main EU institutions; the other two are the European Parliament (EP) and the Council (of the European Union).
The EC prepares legislation for adoption by the Council (representing the member countries) and the Parliament (representing the citizens).
EC administers the budget and the policy programmes (Agriculture, Fisheries, Research etc.) in cooperation with authorities in the member countries.
The EC also services the 28 EU Commissioners.
No comments:
Post a Comment