Influence of English is fading, says EU chief Juncker

Reuters — European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took a swipe at Britain on Friday, saying he would not give a speech in English because the language was becoming less significant following Brexit.

“Slowly but surely English is losing importance in Europe,” Juncker told a conference in Florence before switching into French and drawing applause from his audience of EU officials, local leaders and Italian students.

Juncker, who hails from Luxembourg, speaks several European languages fluently and regularly uses English at international gatherings. He said he also wanted to speak French to be better understood in France ahead of Sunday’s final presidential election round.

The conference, on the state of the European Union, comes at a time of tensions between Brussels and London ahead of formal negotiations over Britain’s withdrawal from the 28-nation bloc.

Juncker said Britain’s decision to leave was “a tragedy”.

“We will negotiate fairly with our British friends, but let’s not forget that the EU is not abandoning the United Kingdom. It is the other way around. And that will make a difference in the years ahead.”

Speaking in English, the European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator, Frenchman Michel Barnier, said a priority in the talks would be to guarantee rights for some 3.2 million EU citizens living in Britain and for some 1.2 million Britons living in EU member states.

“Nevertheless we can be certain that Brexit will inevitably entail a number of negative consequences. This is not a question of ‘punishment’. These negative consequences simply follow logically from the choice made by the British people.”

He also dismissed suggestions in London that the talks should be largely secret. “I will do everything in my power to ensure that information on the negotiations is made public so that an informed debate can take place,” he said.

In a sign of growing friction and frustration, May accused EU politicians and officials on Wednesday of seeking to sway the outcome of a June 8 national election in Britain by issuing threats over Brexit.

Juncker acknowledged that the European Union had its “weaknesses” and was partly to blame for the British decision to abandon ship. But he said the bloc’s successes, were often overlooked.

“We are criticized, torn to pieces, but elsewhere in the world we are admired,” he said. “We have overcome decades, centuries of bloodshed.”