Irish language in the EU
EU agreement reached over Irish language
13 June 2005 12:32
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD, has welcomed today’s decision by EU Foreign Ministers unanimously to approve the Irish Government’s proposal to accord official and working status in the EU to the Irish language.
He said: ‘I am very pleased that the Irish language has been accorded official and working status in the European Union. This affirms at European level the dignity and status of our first official language. This represents a particularly significant practical step for the Irish language, and complements the Government’s wider policy of strong support for the language at home.’
The proposal results in a major enhancement of the status of the Irish language in the EU. It becomes the twenty-first official and working language of the Union.
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The Government tabled a proposal in Brussels last November seeking official and working status in the EU for the Irish language.
To date, Irish has been accorded the status of a Treaty language. This derives from the fact that the Treaties are in Irish and that in the Treaties Irish is listed as one of the languages in which the text is authentic.
The Government’s proposal required the unanimous support of member states. The formal adoption of the proposal by the General Affairs and External Relations Council changes the status of Irish to that of an official and working language of the Union.
