However, there are more speakers of English as an L1, L2, or additional language across more EU member states compared to French – with only three out of the 28 EU countries (Belgium, France, and Luxembourg) holding a bigger population of French speakers. (Statistics from 2008, ISTAT). This means, in most circumstances, English is more likely to be used as the official language of publication due to the larger majority of English speakers in parliament.

In contrast, French is considered a working language of many international institutions such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations (UN) alongside Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Russian and Arabic. (France Diplomatie, 2018). As the language used exclusively for EU Court of Justice deliberations, French is a language of reference which holds high status within European politics – a counter argument worth noting when considering the threat posed by the global rise of English.

Britain’s recent decision to leave the European Union may also have a massive impact on the influence and application of English within Europe’s politics – making French the primary language across the EU Parliament and Commission. Following the UK’s departure from the EU, only 1% of its population will speak English as their first language – whereas 12% of the population will claim French as its L1. (European Commission, 2012). To highlight the significant impact Brexit will have on the English language within the EU, the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker states “slowly but surely, English is losing its importance within Europe.” This demonstrates, opposing the initial question “to what extent is French under threat by the global rise of English”, that French poses a threat to the English language once the UK has left the European Union.

Thus far, the thesis has argued that English is the fundamental language within European political policy and publication implies that it poses a threat to French as the other working language within EU politics. On the other hand, the counter-argument indicates that French maintains a prominent status of power and importance within the European Union. Consequently, it can be deduced that both languages have a major influence on the function and communication of the European political system. Despite English being the main language of governmental op