26/08/2005 (Agence Europe) - MEP Ingo Friedrich, Vice-President of the CSU, notes in a press release that he is reassured by the European Commission's response to his question about the status of German in the European institutions. The Bavarian MEP comments that German is, and remains, an official EU language and a working EU language. He had expressed concern at rumours in the media that the Commission was planning to stop translating documents into German. (See EUROPE 9012 on recent statements by Commissioner Jan Figel, responsible for multi-lingualism, about the Commission's translation policy). German clearly remains an official EU language, but it is also a working language, like English and French, said Friedrich, adding that with around 100 million German speakers, German is the most widely spoken mother tongue in Europe, and this must be taken into account in the future.