17/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - It is high time that German, “the most widely used language in the EU”, take up its rightful place in the European Commission Directorate Generals, say the two regional German ministers responsible for European affairs, Wolfgang Reinhart of the Land of Baden-Wurtemberg, and Jörg-Uwe Hahn of Hesse. They have written to Commissioner Leonard Orban, in charge of multilingualism, to put an end to this “discrimination” against the German language. They write it should go without saying that, from the outset, the European Commission should fully publish all major documents in German. Despite several German initiatives, the Commission's translation practices have still not been improved, the two ministers bemoan. With a view to European elections in June, it is also important for EU citizens to be able to dialogue with Community institutions in their mother tongue, they stress. (H.B./transl.jl)