Luxembourg PM 'regrets' Malta's official language status

Luxemburg's Prime Minister Jean Claude Juncker, who currently represents the EU presidency, regrets the fact that Maltese has been recognised as an official language of the bloc, according to a report in the EU press.

As the European Union starts debating a request by the Irish government to make Gaelic an official EU language and by the Spanish government to include Catalan, Galician and Basque as official working languages, Mr Juncker was quoted by Agence Europe as saying he regretted Malta's request, during its accession negotiations, which led to the recognition of Maltese as an official EU language.

He said his country had never asked for its language to be an official EU language and pointed out that all his countrymen and women speak French and German.

He suggested that Malta should have followed Luxembourg's example instead of making its demand for official language status, with all the attendant complications and costs.

The Times is informed that Mr Junker's remarks have annoyed the Maltese government. A Maltese diplomatic source said the Prime Minister's assessment and comparisons are wrong and should not have been made.

The source said the situation in Malta is very different from that of Luxembourg, adding that not all Maltese speak and understand English, as it is the situation in Luxembourg with French and German. Maltese also feel much more comfortable expressing themselves in their own language.

The source added that Mr Juncker's statement was also erroneous historically, as Luxembourgish was not even recognised in Luxembourg until the mid-1980s, well after the country's entry into the EU.

The Maltese language has been one of the 21 official EU languages since accession last May. This has brought with it numerous opportunities of employment for Maltese citizens in the translation and interpretation services of the EU. Most of the vacancies, however, are still to be filled.

Meanwhile, following preliminary discussions on the Irish and Spanish requests, there is known to be more support within the member states for the Irish proposal.

Irish (Gaelic) is recognised in the Irish Constitution and is widely spoken across the country. On the contrary, the Spanish request is being interpreted as seeking recognition of regional languages, something which member states want to exclude as this will lead to a number of other regional languages in other member states pushing for official recognition.