Author: Filip Teodorowicz, Kozminski University

Out of hundreds of possible consequences of the dumbest decision made in recent years, commonly known as Brexit, there is one that might impact the functioning of the entire EU but has not been given enough attention. After Britain leaves the European Union, English will no longer be one of its official languages. How is that possible?

Each member state has the right to choose one official language and it automatically becomes an official language of the European Union. All documents and regulations must be drafted in all of the languages. Currently there are 24 official languages, which is less than the number of member states, because some countries share the same language (e.g. Germany and Austria). However, the UK is the only country that identified English as their official language. Ireland and Malta chose their traditional languages instead – Irish and Maltese.

English is the most widely spoken language of the EU (51% of adults understand it as their first or additional language) and that is unlikely to change even after Brexit. However, there already are more German native speakers, and a similar number of people who speak French as their first language. In addition, French is the official language of all 3 “capitals” of the European Union (Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg). Both languages are also among three “procedural languages” of the European Commission.

Between Brexit and the constantly deteriorating relations with the US under the new administration, it seems quite probable that European Union institutions will be moving away from English and will more frequently use other languages in their everyday workings. One thing is certain, unless either Malta or Ireland decide to change their official language within the EU, new regulations will no longer be drafted in English after March 2019.