Brussels, 26/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 26 September, Europe celebrates its European Day of Languages (EUROPE 9033) where the European Commission is publishing the results of a Eurobarometer survey which was conducted last June and which focuses on knowledge of languages among European citizens. 50% of the European population say they can speak a foreign language (47% of the EU15 population). The results vary considerably from one country to another: 29% of the Hungarian population, 30% of the British and 36% of the Portuguese, Italian and Spanish populations say they can master a foreign language and 99% of the Luxembourg population; English is known as a second language by one third of the EU population. It is followed by German (12%), which has slightly overtaken French (11%) as the second most spoken foreign language in the EU due to the fact that it is widely used in the countries which joined the EU last year; the 2004 enlargement has lifted Russian to the fourth place - tied with Spanish - in the list of the most widely spoken foreign languages in the EU; students are the most likely to speak a foreign language: almost 8 out of 10 students can use at least one foreign language.
The Commission regards mobility as a key factor in motivating people to learn about their neighbours, and to learn their languages and supports this through the Erasmus action, the Youth programme, and the town-twinning action. In July 2003, the Commission published an Action Plan on “Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity”. The Commission has committed itself to undertaking 45 actions at European level between 2004 and 2006, in the hope of encouraging others to progress at national, regional or local level. The Commission will also publish this autumn a Communication on Multilingualism, setting out its broad strategy for the years ahead.