[lg policy] Brexit may see the EU say 'au revoir' to the English language

[Harold Schiffman]

Brexit may see the EU say 'au revoir' to the English language

Ireland uses Gaelic as its first official EU language
News <http://www.newstalk.com/reader/47.301/-/>
[image: Brexit, English, EU, official language, Danuta Maria Hubner,
Ireland, Malta]

The British flag flutters in the wind, in front of a model of the Brussels
Atomium construction in Brussels | Image: Virginia Mayo / AP/Press
Association Images

*A Polish MEP has suggested English may no longer be one of the official
languages of the European Union if and when Britain leaves the bloc.*

The EU currently has 24 official and working languages - including Irish
and English.

In 1958, the first official language policy of what was then the European
Community (EC) identified Dutch, French, German, and Italian as the
official working languages.

Since then, as more countries became part of the EU, the number of official
and working languages has increased.

But MEP and chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Danuta Maria
Hubner, has said English could be stricken off the list.

She said EU rules allow member states to use one official language each.

"English is our official language because it has been notified by the UK.
If we don't have the UK, we don't have English," Ms Hubner told a news
conference
<http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-language-idUSKCN0ZD2AC>.

While English is spoken in three EU member states - Ireland, Britain and
Malta - only Britain legally chose it in Brussels.

The first official language of Ireland is Irish, while Malta officially
speaks Maltese.

While French MEP Jean-Luc Mélenchon tweeted: "English can no longer be the
third working language of the European Parliament."

http://www.newstalk.com/Brexit-English-EU-official-language-Danuta-Maria-Hubner-Ireland-Malta


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