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Languages of the European Union
The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages, of which the three most natively spoken ones are German, French and Italian. Previously, English, French and German were considered "procedural" languages, but this notion was abandoned by the European Commission, whereas the European Parliament accepts all official languages as working languages. Today, English and French are used in the day-to-day workings of the institutions of the EU. Institutions have the right to define the linguistic regime of their working, but the Commission and a number of other institutions have not done so, as indicated by several judicial rulings.
The EU asserts that it is in favour of linguistic diversity. This principle is enshrined in Article 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (art. 22) and in the Treaty on European Union (art. 3(3) TEU). In the EU, language policy is the responsibility of member states, and the EU does not have a common language policy; EU institutions play a supporting role in this field, based on the principle of "subsidiarity"; they promote a European dimension in the member states' language policies. The EU encourages all its citizens to be multilingual; specifically, it encourages them to be able to speak two languages in addition to their native language. Though the EU has very limited influence in this area, as the content of educational systems is the responsibility of individual member states, a number of EU funding programmes actively promote language learning and linguistic diversity.
All 24 official languages of the EU are accepted as working languages, but in practice only three – English, French, and German – are in wide general use in its institutions, and of these, English is the most commonly used. The most widely understood language in the EU is English, which is understood by 44% of all adults, while German is the most widely used mother tongue, spoken by 18%. French is an official language in all three of the cities that are political centres of the EU: Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg City. Since the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU in 2020, the government of France has encouraged greater use of French as a working language.
Luxembourgish and Turkish, which have official status in Luxembourg and Cyprus, respectively, are the only two official languages of EU member states that are not official languages of the EU. In 2023, the Spanish government requested that its co-official languages Catalan, Basque, and Galician be added to the official languages of the EU.
As of 30 July 2023[update], the official languages of the European Union, as stipulated in the latest amendment of Regulation No 1 determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community of 1958, are:
The number of member states (27) exceeds the number of official languages (24), as three member states (Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg) did not have a distinct national official language when they joined the EEC, but rather shared their closest neighbours': Austria's was (and still is) German; Belgium's were (and still are) Dutch, French and German; and Luxembourg's were French and German. Luxembourgish became a national official language of Luxembourg in 1984 (decades after the country joined the European Communities as a founding member). Despite this, Luxembourg has not since requested its designation as an EU official language. Cyprus has two official languages, Greek and Turkish, but only Greek is an official language of the EU, shared by Greece. Conversely, the United Kingdom withdrew from the EU in 2020, but the English language remains as it is official in Ireland (besides Irish) and in Malta (besides Maltese). Therefore, 23 of the 27 EU states have 24 official languages, and the remaining 4 do not contribute any additional official languages.
Several national languages are shared by two or more countries in the EU. Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, and Swedish are all official languages at the national level in multiple countries (see table above). In addition, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Hungarian, Italian, Slovak, and Slovene are official languages in multiple EU countries at the regional level.[citation needed]
Furthermore, not all national languages have been accorded the status of official EU languages. These include Luxembourgish, an official language of Luxembourg since 1984, and Turkish, an official language of Cyprus.[citation needed]
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Languages of the European Union
The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages, of which the three most natively spoken ones are German, French and Italian. Previously, English, French and German were considered "procedural" languages, but this notion was abandoned by the European Commission, whereas the European Parliament accepts all official languages as working languages. Today, English and French are used in the day-to-day workings of the institutions of the EU. Institutions have the right to define the linguistic regime of their working, but the Commission and a number of other institutions have not done so, as indicated by several judicial rulings.
The EU asserts that it is in favour of linguistic diversity. This principle is enshrined in Article 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (art. 22) and in the Treaty on European Union (art. 3(3) TEU). In the EU, language policy is the responsibility of member states, and the EU does not have a common language policy; EU institutions play a supporting role in this field, based on the principle of "subsidiarity"; they promote a European dimension in the member states' language policies. The EU encourages all its citizens to be multilingual; specifically, it encourages them to be able to speak two languages in addition to their native language. Though the EU has very limited influence in this area, as the content of educational systems is the responsibility of individual member states, a number of EU funding programmes actively promote language learning and linguistic diversity.
All 24 official languages of the EU are accepted as working languages, but in practice only three – English, French, and German – are in wide general use in its institutions, and of these, English is the most commonly used. The most widely understood language in the EU is English, which is understood by 44% of all adults, while German is the most widely used mother tongue, spoken by 18%. French is an official language in all three of the cities that are political centres of the EU: Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg City. Since the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU in 2020, the government of France has encouraged greater use of French as a working language.
Luxembourgish and Turkish, which have official status in Luxembourg and Cyprus, respectively, are the only two official languages of EU member states that are not official languages of the EU. In 2023, the Spanish government requested that its co-official languages Catalan, Basque, and Galician be added to the official languages of the EU.
As of 30 July 2023[update], the official languages of the European Union, as stipulated in the latest amendment of Regulation No 1 determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community of 1958, are:
The number of member states (27) exceeds the number of official languages (24), as three member states (Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg) did not have a distinct national official language when they joined the EEC, but rather shared their closest neighbours': Austria's was (and still is) German; Belgium's were (and still are) Dutch, French and German; and Luxembourg's were French and German. Luxembourgish became a national official language of Luxembourg in 1984 (decades after the country joined the European Communities as a founding member). Despite this, Luxembourg has not since requested its designation as an EU official language. Cyprus has two official languages, Greek and Turkish, but only Greek is an official language of the EU, shared by Greece. Conversely, the United Kingdom withdrew from the EU in 2020, but the English language remains as it is official in Ireland (besides Irish) and in Malta (besides Maltese). Therefore, 23 of the 27 EU states have 24 official languages, and the remaining 4 do not contribute any additional official languages.
Several national languages are shared by two or more countries in the EU. Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, and Swedish are all official languages at the national level in multiple countries (see table above). In addition, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Hungarian, Italian, Slovak, and Slovene are official languages in multiple EU countries at the regional level.[citation needed]
Furthermore, not all national languages have been accorded the status of official EU languages. These include Luxembourgish, an official language of Luxembourg since 1984, and Turkish, an official language of Cyprus.[citation needed]