Brussels, 25/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - “Our aim is for every citizen to have the opportunity to learn at least two foreign languages,” European Multilingualism Commissioner Leonard Orban told press on the eve of the official European Day of Languages which will be celebrated throughout the EU on Saturday 26 September (see EUROPE 9981). He stressed that this aim was for everyone and applied, therefore, “to all categories of people, all age ranges and all professions”, including migrants whose mother tongues, indeed, enriched the EU. Language learning, then, must not be “a privilege” for an elite, he went on. The Commission also pointed out that the 8th European Day of Languages was focusing on the importance of learning languages from as young an age as possible, since children can learn foreign languages more easily than adults. Statistics published by Eurostat (see EUROPE 9984) reveal that, in the EU in 2007, 60% of secondary school pupils studied two or more foreign languages, one third studied one foreign language, and 6% studied none. Orban also pointed out that learning a language did not have to be a chore. “It can become a real pleasure” thanks, for example, to new technology (CDs, internet, etc.) which make learning more enjoyable, he said. He noted that the theme of this year's Day of Languages was, “Enjoy yourself, have fun learning foreign languages”. Looking back over his term of office that began in January 2007, Orban said he felt he had succeeded in making multilingualism “a major EU policy, one of the instruments for managing cultural diversity”. He also highlighted the asset that multilingualism was for improving Europe's competitiveness, and noted that a forum for exchanging best business practice involving social partners, chambers of commerce, trade defence and promotion organisations, schools and education authorities would be set up on 23 October. When asked whether he would like to keep the same portfolio in the next Commission, Orban said he could not answer that, the decision was for Commission President José Manuel Barroso, but that, no matter what was decided, “multilingualism would remain an important policy”. (O.L./transl.rt)