JEAN-CLAUDE Juncker has said the English language is losing its importance in Europe.
The president of the European Commission made the comments during a speech in Florence amid simmering tensions over Brexit negotiations.
Speaking to European diplomats and experts, he went on to label the UK’s divorce from the EU as a ‘tragedy’.
“Slowly but surely English is losing importance in Europe,” he said, “The French will have elections on Sunday and I would like them to understand what I am saying.”
He switched to speaking in French after finishing his opening remarks.
He added that Britain decided to leave the bloc despite historic successes and a recent uptick in economic growth.
“Our British friends decided to leave the EU, which is a tragedy,” he said.
Although vowing to negotiate with the UK in full transparency, he added: “There should be no doubt whatsoever that it is not the EU that is abandoning the UK, they are abandoning the European Union and this is a difference which will be felt over the next few years.”
President of the European Council Donald Tusk was forced to intervene, asking May to show ‘moderation and respect’.
Tusk said: “These negotiations are difficult enough as they are, if we start arguing before they even begin, they will become impossible.
“The stakes are too high to let our emotions get out of hand because at stake are the daily lives and interests of millions of people on both sides of the Channel.”
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Take no notice of this drunken fool!
No wonder the British are leaving the EU having had to work together with the likes of him.
I´ll not worry very much about the declarations of Junker.
The use of English as lingua franca is due to the US empire and, despite his decadence, I can not see some alternative in the decades ahead.
idiotic comments
totally agree Junker is living on another planet
I agree with Anselmo. It might be called ‘English’, but it’s actually ‘American’. Also, the sudden removal of seventy million English-speaking people from the melting-pot of the EU is bound to have an effect on the – at least – percentages.
Get your facts right Lennox and Anelmo…..you just made your self look a right UNEDUCATED TOOLS….!!!!!!
There is no such thing as the American language………..they speak English….its really not rocket science….WHAT A PAIR OF BELL ENDS….!!!!!
An idiot commenting on idiotic comments……there is no such thing as the American language…….they speak ENGLISH…..this quite simpley isnt rocket science.
There is no American language only Americanised dialect of the English language which is the third most spoken language in the World.
I´m sure that it will lose some importance in European insititutions, but little. English is the common language in European union between 2 non french speakers, so it is not important really. The real problem is not languages. The real problem is the situation of millions of persons in UK and Europe. British people can change the biggest mistake than they did in 4 centuries in next elections.
Just got back from Rome me old cocker, signs on the buses in Italian and English, on the trains announcements in Italian and English, on the planes native tongue of the airline and English, French is the irrelevant language.
AA. What mistake are you talking about?. What the British voted for was putting right the illegal entry into the common market signed by Edward Heath in 1971. He even admitted to it in his memoirs even though he was told at the time.