EU/ITALY:'NO DISCRIMINATION' AGST ITALIAN LANGUAGE, BARROSO
Brussels
(ANSA) - Brussels, February 24 - A decision to drop Italian as
one of the languages into which European Commissioners' press
conferences are translated was not discriminatory and would be
corrected, European Commission President Jose' Manuel Durao Barroso
said today. Barroso said there was "absolutely no desire"
to discriminate against Italian and Spanish, which was also dropped.
He said Commission staff had told him there were "logistical
difficulties" linked to the daily press conferences. "We're
seeking a pragmatic solution to the problem," Barroso said.
"For my part, I promise you that starting with the next press
conference I'll speak a part in Italian," Barroso went on,
voicing the hope that he would be understood "as well as
(ex-EC chief Romano) Prodi." "This is meant to be a
gesture of respect and recognition for your beautiful Italian
language," Barroso added. The Italian lanquage question will
be formally taken up by permanent representatives to the European
Union on Friday, an Italian minister said yesterday. Minister
for Relations with Parliament Carlo Giovanardi said the Italian
government had asked for an explanation directly from Barroso
and the EU duty president, Luxembourg. Italian has been dropped
from EC press conferences except on Wednesdays. In a letter to
Barroso on Saturday, Italy's permanent representative in Brussels,
Ambassador Rocco Cangelosi, said the Italian language had been
relegated to "a wholly secondary position." On Sunday
Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini appeared to play down the problem,
saying that each member state still had the right to its own translators
for ministerial meetings. He also noted that Italian was not one
of the big three EU languages: French, English and German. But
the alleged discrimination against Italian has raised a storm
of media comment in Italy. - A decision to drop Italian as one
of the languages into which European Commissioners' press conferences
are translated will be formally taken up by permanent representatives
to the European Union on Friday, an Italian minister said today.
Minister for Relations with Parliament Carlo Giovanardi said the
Italian government had asked for an explanation directly from
EC President Jose' Manuel Durao Barroso and the EU duty president,
Luxembourg. Italian has been dropped from EC press conferences
except on Wednesdays. In a letter to Barroso on Saturday, Italy's
permanent representative in Brussels, Ambassador Rocco Cangelosi,
said the Italian language had been relegated to "a wholly
secondary position." On Sunday Foreign Minister Gianfranco
Fini appeared to play down the problem, saying that each member
state still had the right to its own translators for ministerial
meetings. He also noted that Italian was not one of the big three
EU languages: French, English and German.
