In a written answer on 17 July 2026, European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič reaffirmed the institution's commitment to multilingualism while pushing back against calls to actively promote Romance languages within EU bodies. The response, which impacts EU citizens and language communities, as well as current and prospective EU staff, signals the Commission's intention to maintain language-neutral policies despite concerns from MEPs that English dominance marginalises languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian.
The answer was given to a parliamentary question by MEPs Catherine Griset (PfE), Pierre Pimpie (PfE), André Rougé (PfE), Georgiana Teodorescu (ECR), Tiago Moreira de Sá (PfE) and António Tânger Corrêa (PfE), who argued that Romance languages are being sidelined in EU institutions, symbolising a technocratic EU distant from its citizens.
Šefčovič's response contains no new concrete proposals, numerical targets or deadlines. Instead, it reiterates existing legal frameworks: EU legislation is published in all 24 official languages under Regulation No 1 from 1958, and the Commission's main website provides information in all official languages. Practical information on citizens' rights is also available in all languages, with machine translation used for other content.
On recruitment, Šefčovič confirmed that staff must demonstrate knowledge of one EU language and satisfactory knowledge of a second, and before first promotion must show ability to work in a third language among those listed in Article 55(1) of the Treaty on European Union. However, he explicitly stated the Commission does not actively promote any particular language, rejecting the MEPs' suggestion to prioritise recruitment or promotions favouring staff who speak languages other than English, including Romance languages.
the Commission will maintain its current language-neutral approach, resisting pressure to give preferential treatment to any language group. No institutional follow-up is expected beyond routine monitoring of multilingualism practices. The answer leaves the existing balance unchanged, with English continuing as the dominant working language despite Brexit and the MEPs' concerns about transatlantic relations.