Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1108702
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 24 APRIL 2019 MATTHEW VELLA THE Nationalist candidate Pe- ter Agius has said he will stand up the possible 'demotion' of the Maltese language inside the European Parliament, as capac- ity issues may affect transla- tions for the language, as well as for Irish and Croatian. "The latest news that Europe- an Parliament could do without Maltese interpretation in many fora of the institution is of ut- most concern. This is unaccep- table. We have no shortage of interpreters, we have a short- age of opportunities to become a full-time professional one," Agius, a speechwriter for EP president Antonio Tajani said. "There are more than 300 graduates who have read for a Masters in Maltese Translation and Interpretation from the University of Malta. As an MEP I would ensure that European Parliament recruiting policies are adapted to take stock of this reality. This matter affects our status in Brussels, I wil not ac- cept an inferior status for Mal- tese. In the past I contributed to end the derogation for the Mal- tese language translations. We can win this one as well." The new Maltese members of the European Parliament elect- ed next May will be returning to a parliament in which they might not have the full trans- lation services for the Maltese language. In March, the European Par- liament adopted by 433 votes to 209, with 20 abstentions, a decision to extend Rule 159 of Parliament's Rules of Proce- dure, which allows a derogation from the obligation to provide interpretation in all official EU languages. Rule 158 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure provides for the right of all MEPs to speak and use any official language of the EU, which accords all 24 official languages equal rights. That includes that the EP's documents are to be drawn up in the official languages, and for all MEPs to have the right to speak in Parliament in the of- ficial language of their choice, with interpretation being pro- vided into the other official lan- guages. However, under Rule 159, derogations from Rule 158 are permissible when linguists re- quired for an official language are not available in sufficient numbers. Agius however said that even the Maltese government was sending the wrong signals in- side the institutions. "Unfortunately the use of Mal- tese in the European Courts of Justice, where the government presented eight out of 11 cases in English instead of Maltese, is sending all the wrong signals. You would never imagine the French or the Polish govern- ment doing anything like that. Same goes for ministry websites where only three out of 20 are available in Maltese. Others will not respect us unless we respect ourselves," Agius said. "Irrespective of our size and small numbers of MEPs, no ex- cuse should be tolerated to do without the Maltese language at EU level. We must do our part as well, by using, speaking and writing in Maltese in Eu- rope and at home. I have done this in this campaign by writ- ing all letters to the European Commission in Maltese. It may take an extra day or two to get a reply, but we convey the impor- tance of our language to the EU institutions," Agius said. PN candidate: Maltese demotion in Brussels is unacceptable Tajani speechwriter Peter Agius says he will not accept inferior status for Maltese language in Brussels Peter Agius