08/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - This Thursday 9 July, the European Commission and the British government are to sign an agreement on the use of the Welsh language. Under the terms of this agreement, the Commission will be able to communicate with the citizens of Wales in their own language by means of certified translations carried out by accredited bodies. Whenever possible, the Commission will translate the documents itself, but it will also be able to transfer them to the Permanent Representation of the United Kingdom to the EU, which will outsource them to an accredited body for translation. The costs of this initiative will be borne by the British government; they will be paid annually on the basis of the number of pages translated. (O.L./trans.fl)