EU could remove English as official language in wake of Brexit

English could be on its way out as an official and working language of the European Union in the fallout from Britain's vote to leave the bloc last Thursday.

The language of Shakespeare is one of the three official languages in the European body's repertoire, and it is used widely as a working language as it is the second language of the majority of those working within any European institution.

But French politicians have suggested that they may now have a chance to push French as the main language used by the bloc.

“English can no longer be the third working language of the European Parliament,” tweeted Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a leftwing MEP and French presidential candidate. “The English language has no legitimacy in Brussels,” said Robert Ménard, mayor of the town of Béziers in southern France.

French politicians have suggested that they may now have a chance to push French as the main language

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, is expected to give a speech on Monday in which he shuns English, speaking only in French and German as opposed to the trilingual manner to which he is accustomed.

English has gradually established itself as the main medium of communication between Eurocrats who don’t share a common language. That process accelerated after the EU’s eastward expansion in 2004. Citizens of newly joined member states who took up jobs as civil servants in Brussels were far more likely to speak English than French.

If the result of the Brexit referendum were to follow through however, English would only be an official language in two EU countries - Ireland and Malta - and neither of these would opt for it as their nominated language.

It would be difficult to envisage the disappearance of English from the committee rooms and corridors of Brussels

The prospect of Britain leaving the EU could potentially increase pressure on EPSO, the EU’s recruitment agency, to drop English as one of the three required languages.

It would be difficult to envisage the disappearance of English from the committee rooms and corridors of Brussels however. The likelihood of a Polish MEP and a Greek MEP speaking French together is very low.

Whatever language high-level EU officers decide to use for press conferences, English will be the working language of the rest of the organization.

A 2012 survey from Eurobarometer found that 38% of Europeans spoke English “well enough to be able to hold a conversation,” compared to just 12% and 11% for French and German, respectively.