Lady Ashton’s French lessons highlight power of language in the European Union

English not enough for top EU foreign policy chief

BRUSSELS — Lady Catherine Ashton, under fire for being unqualified for her job as Europe’s foreign minister, has upset the French with her flawed command of what was once the language of international diplomacy. Her diplomatic response: I will learn better French.

Over the past two decades English has replaced French as the language most used in the halls of European Union institutions. So when Ashton was made head of EU foreign policy in November and predominantly used her native English, it hurt French pride. When she spoke French, it hurt their ears.

“She speaks French,” said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in response to a question about Ashton’s language skills. Then he added: “It is not a marvel.”

French Europe minister Pierre Lellouche invited Ashton during a friendly talk several weeks ago to the Millefeuille Provence language school close to the sun-splashed city of Avignon. He even followed it up with a more formal invitation. He also offered the opportunity to other top EU officials like European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek.

“Pierre Lellouche has written a letter to say we are at her service, in Avignon. It is not an ugly town,” Kouchner said, tongue somewhere in his cheek. He called the invitation “funny, but charming.”

Ashton got the message.

“She is very, very willing to improve it,” her spokesman Lutz Guellner said Tuesday. “When, how exactly, remains to be seen.”

Across the 27 nations, the EU has 23 languages, and for many citizens attachment to their mother tongues is an important counterweight to Europe’s increasing globalization and use of English as the predominant way to communicate.

Many leaders in Europe still struggle with fluent mulilingualism despite the increasing cooperation across borders that the EU promotes.

Over the past dozen years on her way up to becoming EU foreign policy chief, Ashton held British ministerial positions in education, constitutional affairs and justice. She became leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Queen’s Privy Council in Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet in June 2007.

She became EU Trade Commissioner a year later, but continued to struggle with French and German.

Ashton speaks some German but hardly enough to use it as a working language. Germany though, has not pushed it on her as France has, perhaps because of a generally lower level of linguistic chauvinism.

Four years ago, then President Jacques Chirac walked out unapologetically of a EU summit meeting when a Frenchman business executive spoke, of all languages, English when addressing the leaders. “I was profoundly shocked,” Chirac said.

“You cannot base a future world on just one language, just one culture,” he said.