Preparations are getting frenzied in Strasbourg in the run-up to the Parliamentary session of next week. The EU Assembly, as well as electing the new President and giving the floor to the president on duty of the EU Council, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is going to present her six-monthly plan, will welcome the 18 Bulgarian MEPs and the 35 Rumanian MEPs. Works are under way, therefore, to equip Parliament, the MEPs’ and the assistants’ offices and adapt the simultaneous translation and interpretation systems. From 15th to 18th January, the first plenary session will be held in 23 languages for the first time; Bulgarian, Rumanian and Gaelic (Irish) will be added to the previous 20 languages. According to the press office of Parliament, "the three newcomers will help strengthen the rich cultural heritage of the European Union and enhance its peculiar diversity". This "happens in particular within Parliament, where all the official languages of the EU are used and multilingualism is given pride of place". In 1957, when the EEC was created, the Assembly used four languages for the 6 member states: French, Italian, Dutch and German. After five accessions, now the record-breaking number is 23 languages and three alphabets into which acts are translated: Latin, Greek and Cyrillic. (to be continued)
