Maltese language official in Brussels

Maltese will be one of the European Union official languages, the government has announced.

A government statement said it was informed that during a meeting in Brussels last Wednesday, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of EU Member States, known as COREPER, accepted the recommendation of the European Commission that upon accession, the Maltese language would be one of the official languages.

The government said that among other things, the EU would start issuing laws and official documents in Maltese, and that Maltese members of the European Parliament would be able to make their speeches in Maltese.

The government said that Maltese citizens would have the right to write to the European Commission and all other EU institutions in Maltese, and to receive their reply in the Maltese language.

Sources said that a substantial number of Maltese translators would have to be employed in Brussels upon accession.

At the moment, the EU has 11 official languages: Danish, Finnish, French, German, Greek, British, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

The government said that for everyday internal work, the European Commission uses two working languages: English and French.