ENGLISH IS AND WILL REMAIN UNCHALLENGED AS THE LINGUA FRANCA OF EUROPE

1. Currently, English, French and German are the working languages of the EU and there are a further 21 languages which are officially recognised.
2. English is the most widely spoken foreign language in 19 of the Member States where it is not an official language. Across Europe, 38% of people speak English well enough as a foreign language to have a conversation, compared to 12% speaking French and 11% in German
3. In some countries of northern Europe English has become a second rather than a foreign language.
4. 67% of Europeans consider English the most useful foreign language, and the numbers favouring German (17%) or French (16%) have declined. As a result, 79% of Europeans want their children to learn English, compared to 20% for French and German.
5. The reach of English is 51% or to put it another way 229,850,000 people use English within Europe alone.
6. English is the dominating language within the EU institutions, the one most frequently used by civil servants. In the European Parliament there are 24 languages, but MEPs prefer English. English outstrips all other official languages during debates. Although MEPs can speak in their native language, many opt to speak in English. English is Europe's common language in much the same way Latin once was.
7. English is used as an intermediate language within official bodies of the EU, for example to translate documents from Portuguese to Lithuanian (or Czech to Spanish or any other number of combinations). It is also used in simultaneous translations (in pairs)
8. English will remain one of the EU’s foreign languages since it is spoken in Ireland and Malta.
9. English will remain the working language of the European Central Bank
10. English is the main language used by many non-native English speakers in Brussels, including EU officials, lawyers, lobbyists and journalists.

There is no turning back the clock on the use of English. Our lives have become truly global and English has become a leading language for both business and pleasure. It has taken centuries to achieve this and so it is likely to remain the case whether the UK is ‘in’ the EU or not. The globalization of English has given greater opportunities for partnerships and collaboration on an individual level as well as on a group or societal level. It allows us to expand our vistas, both within Europe and beyond.