Irish Examiner: Front Page in Irish
On 12th June 2005 the Irish language was made an official working language of the EU (specfically it was upgraded from a "treaty" language, into which all formal treaties need to be translated, into a "working" language, into which important documents need to be translated).
Chinnigh an tAontas Eorpach (AE) stádas oifigiúil agus oibre don Ghaeilge don chéad uair riamh.
[The EU has granted Irish official working status for the first time.]
I know that many will argue about the value of spending money on things like this, but personally I am glad that Irish has the same status as the languages of the new member states, and it is often too easy to underestimate the value of culture and of language. One of Europe's greatest collective treasures is its culture and its language and it is right that these languages should be recognised within the EU. What is stranger to me is that various Irish governments took so long to negotiate this status....
Posted by mofoghlu at June 19, 2005 04:49 PM | TrackBack