The expansion of the European Union with new countries will bring additional linguistic diversity into the Union. Will the EU be able to retain its unique policy of language equality, at a time when it is inevitable to have some changes in the current language policy that limits the rights, especially, of the “smaller” official languages?

The expansion of the European Union has brought per se a landscape of linguistic diversity, encouraging multilingualism, which directly affects not only its cultural identity but also its political one. Based on the principle that each language is unique and has its features and characteristics, the European Union (EU) sees the use of languages, from the perspective of a particular and unique policy. This perspective indicates a heightened awareness on the part of the European Commission of the increasing importance of the multilingual challenge for the European project. By considering multilingualism as one of the most distinctive features of the EU implying the harmonious co-existence and usage of official languages being spoken in EU member states, the EU recognizes the status of all languages spoken within the European territory. Moreover, for the EU, multilingualism is not only an expression of the EU countries’ cultural identities but also a means of preserving democracy, transparency, and accountability, which makes EU language policy even more comprehensive.

The European Union’s commitment to multilingualism and the recognition of all official languages of member states as equal are enshrined in several key policies and legal documents. These include the Treaty on European Union (TEU), specifically Article 3, which outlines the EU’s objective to respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity.

Additionally, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in Article 24 emphasizes the right of EU citizens to communicate with the EU institutions in any of the official languages and to receive a response in the same language. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, particularly Articles 21 and 22, further reinforces this commitment by prohibiting discrimination based on language and ensuring respect for linguistic diversity.

Furthermore, Council Regulation No. 1, which was one of the first regulations adopted by the European Economic Community, determines the languages to be used by the community, establishing the principle of language equality.

However, even though the EU’s commitment to multilingualism is evident, enlargement with new member states poses challenges related to language use, as well as translation. Every integration process raises questions about the sustainability of language equality, especially concerning smaller official languages.

Currently, there are 9 EU candidate countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine and 1 (Kosovo) is a potential candidate. The expansion of the European Union with new countries will bring additional linguistic diversity into the Union. Each new member state typically adds one or more official languages to the existing set of EU languages. This expansion presents both challenges and opportunities for the EU’s multilingual framework. This means that the EU must prepare new language policies, or improve the existing ones, especially when it comes to the linguistic integration of small languages in the EU. As these countries progress towards EU membership, linguistic diversity brings challenges to effective communication, decision-making processes, and social cohesion within EU institutions.

In this context, the question of whether the EU will be able to retain its unique policy of language equality will be brought up, at a time when it is inevitable to have some changes in the current language policy that limit the rights of the “smaller” official languages.

Even though in EU politics the issue of multilingualism has a fundamental place, the linguistic aspects of enlargement have not been discussed in detail, at a time when the linguistic issue is very sensitive, especially due to the fact that the linguistic integration of the new EU states requires a lot of efforts. In the past, there was even fear that with the addition of new languages, the system could collapse. Therefore, there was an idea to reduce the number of working languages in the EU, which was considered politically unacceptable, because it violated the principle of equality between languages and, of course, among member states.

The issue of language use became even more sensitive during the entry of the UK into the EU in 1973. With English dominating as lingua franca, there was an evident fear that the French language would lose its status, and the EU would “change” its identity. Meanwhile, in 1978, the suggested “asymmetric system” allowing speeches in native languages with interpretation only into English and French, was also dismissed. Whereas, in 1982, following the entry of Greece into the EU, the equality among official languages was reaffirmed, leading to a resolution supporting multilingualism.

Despite the Political Affairs Committee’s push to lower the costs, a resolution supported the principle of absolute equality between all Community languages in EU meetings. It was therefore proposed that the Community Trade Mark Office operate in one language to avoid translation costs. However, this proposal turned into a political issue, with only Spain willing to sacrifice its language in exchange for the office’s location there. Even later, with the entry of other countries into the EU, there were attempts to reach a compromise on the use of the official languages of the EU; in every case, the need to respect national identities was emphasized. Hence, the proposal to merge Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish for translation and interpretation in the European Parliament was ultimately rejected. The 1995 accession of Sweden, Finland, and Austria increased the number of official languages to 11. After that, a proposal coming from France during their EU presidency limited the working languages of the EU to five. Nevertheless, even this proposal had strong opposition, also emphasizing the importance of preserving all European languages.

In 2000, there was also a radical idea to reduce the use of languages to three working languages in the EU, English, French, and German. There was also an idea to have the languages of the EU produce and use an artificial language, like Esperanto. However, all these attempts have failed.

Language remains a controversial issue in the EU, often used as a negotiation tool in accession negotiations. As the EU expands, new languages are added, as each member state strives to be linguistically equal with all member states. Furthermore, it is essential that citizens of the candidate countries have access to and understand the legislation in their mother tongue.

In reality, the EU’s commitment to multilingualism has been proved especially by the European Parliament.

However, scholars emphasize that despite the European Commission’s commitment to maintaining language equality, “there is a growing concern that the rights of smaller official languages may be compromised.”

I think this happens for several reasons, which are 1) firstly related to a kind of inequality in the distribution of funds for translation and interpretation, because often large languages ​​have more funds compared to small languages.

2) Second, small languages are less represented on digital platforms.

3) Third, efforts to standardize or even simplify communication usually give priority to large languages, leading to the marginalization of small languages.

4) Fourth, there is an increase in interest in learning big languages (English, German, etc.) which means that the support for the small languages of life is reduced and therefore these languages are less present in the EU language landscape.

Wright 2016 points out that if the EU wants to overcome these challenges, it should take into account three main issues: translation costs, communication efficiency, and decision-making processes. I think that it is important to implement innovative strategies that enable the mitigation of barriers between linguistic diversity and administrative pragmatism, aiming for language policies that preserve the essence of the EU, the principle of equal treatment of all languages.

Considering that multilingualism and cultural diversity should be seen and used as a strength, not as a problem, the European Union policy should focus on how to give “the right voice” to all languages, specifically to the small ones, not only by translating all existing Community laws by the date of each candidate’s accession to the EU but also by minimizing the barriers to the spread of their culture, literature, and traditions within Europe and beyond.

Translation becomes essential when we talk about linguistic equality in the EU as well as when we talk about the management of the EU’s multilingualism, since it serves as a link between different cultures. Moreover, effective translation makes it possible for citizens to interact with the institutions of the European Union in the language they want, which leads to their complete inclusion, ensuring democratic citizen participation, as much as intended by the EU. The scholars Koskinen 2008 and Biel 2014 argue that on one hand there is a need to preserve linguistic diversity, on the other, there is a push for efficient communication, which sometimes necessitates the prioritization of certain languages over others. In this context, the EU needs to balance linguistic diversity with the necessity of more effective communication. Technology in this case can play a facilitating role. Using machine translation, computer-assisted translation tools, or other digital innovations could facilitate cross-cultural understanding within the European Union. However, even though technological tools would help the process, it should be taken into account that language itself is a delicate system, which means that automatic translation risks eliminating linguistic nuances, cultural nuances, etc. Without a combination of human touch in translation and the use of technology, there is a risk of damaging the essence of a certain language, that is, its special features. Human expertise in the translation process makes accessibility, and streamlining workflows possible, and promotes intercultural dialogue within the EU, thereby advancing the goals of linguistic diversity and democratic governance.

To conclude, the expansion of the European Union introduces significant linguistic diversity, impacting both cultural and political identities. Even though the EU’s commitment to multilingualism and language equality is reflected in its policies and legal frameworks, as new member states join, the challenge of maintaining this equality, becomes increasingly complex.

Although the EU considers multilingualism to be vital to cultural identity and democratic values, there is an apparent concern that the rights of smaller languages may be jeopardized. Issues such as the uneven distribution of translation resources, underrepresentation on digital platforms, and the tendency to prioritize larger languages create barriers for smaller languages.

As the EU prepares for further enlargements, it must also develop new language policies that uphold the principle of linguistic equality, while effectively managing communication challenges.

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Manjola Zaçellari is an Associate Professor at Aleksander Moisiu University in Albania and visiting lecturer at UBT University in Kosovo. She is the Academic coordinator of the Erasmus + Jean Monnet projects “EU multilingualism, Language Education and Intercultural Dialogue” (EUMLEID) and “Advancing Kosovo’s European Integration through learning about the EU” (AKIL-EU) funded by the EU. She is a lexicographer for the compilation of the Large Dictionary of the Albanian Language and a permanent member of the Linguistic and Literature Commission at the Academy of Sciences of Albania. Visiting lecturer at Kodolanyi Janos University, Hungary (2019, 2020). Visiting scholar at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Austria (2024). Visiting scholar at Friedrich-Alexander Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany (2023). Ambassador for Peace, Universal Peace Federation.