MEPs back call for EU language change

The leaders of the parliament’s two biggest political groups are backing calls for German to be used on all future EU presidency websites.

European ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros announced on Monday that presidency websites should be available not only in English and French, but also in German and, possibly, other languages.

The Greek’s suggestion has received support from the leaders of the European People’s Party and the Socialist group, both of whom are German.

PES leader Martin Schulz said he favoured the idea, saying,”German may not be understood by everyone but it is worth remembering that it is the language spoken by the biggest share of the EU’s population.”

His comments were echoed by EPP leader Hans-Gert Poettering for whom a spokesman said, “The EPP would welcome any extra languages, especially German which is the majority language in the EU, being added to the presidency websites.”

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