The furore about the exclusion of Italian from the group of official languages used during the press conferences of the Commission has assumed political dimensions. At the end of November the chief spokesperson of the Commission Françoise Le Bail had made a surprise announcement, saying that it had been decided to limit to three languages English, French and German the number of simultaneous translation booths for the press conferences of Commissioners (with the exception of Wednesday, the day on which the briefing that follows the weekly meeting of the college of Commissioners is provided with translation into all the official languages of the EU). This decision to which should be added the failure to appoint an Italian-language spokesman (another “innovation”) had given rise to strong reactions, especially on the part of the Italian and Spanish governments, culminating in a formal letter of protest sent last week to the Commission President Josè Barroso by the permanent representative of Italy to the EU, Rocco Cangelosi, supported by his Spanish counterpart Carlos Bastarreche. The letter calls the “trilingual regime” a “clear violation of the treaties” and a “serious discrimination” against a founding country and net contributor to the EU. The committee of permanent representatives (COREPER) promised its support to the Italo-Spanish initiative. The Luxembourg Presidency has also invited the Commission to take note of the debate.
