MEPs are calling for a more “efficient and cost-effective” use of interpretation services at the European Parliament to save money.

Some €58 million a year is spent on translation work in 24 languages.

A report drawn up by Esther de Lange, from the European Parliament Budgetary Committee, cites Estonian and Maltese as the least used during plenary sessions.

English, German and French are by far the most spoken languages with Maltese only used for 195 minutes in almost three-and-a-half years while Estonian was used for just 109 minutes.

Although Maltese is rarely used in the European Chamber, it is still regarded as one of the official languages of the EU, obliging institutions to provide full interpretation services. This involves engaging a raft of Maltese interpreters and supporting staff.

The same applies to all the other 23 languages, which lately includes Croatian. Prior to accession, Malta had fought hard to acquire a status of official language for Maltese. This provided a good employment opportunity for many citizens both as translators and interpreters.

However, many EU critics use the example of ‘small languages’, such as Maltese, Estonian, Latvian and Gaelic, as an example of the EU’s waste of money.