France pushes back against English-first EU trade deals
Por Camille Gijs — Foreign policy – POLITICO
BRUSSELS — France is pushing back against the European Commission’s bid to fast-track trade deals with Indonesia and India by using English-language texts before they are fully translated, four people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Brussels floated a new plan in February with EU capitals to prioritize an “English-first” approach, allowing member countries and the European Parliament to approve the English-language version of trade agreements rather than waiting months for translations into all the other 23 official EU languages.
The language row risks delaying the drive by Brussels to diversify the EU’s trading relationships — away from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade protectionism and China’s growing export dominance — through a string of trade deals with Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
“We want to ensure equal treatment of all the European Union’s official languages, including French, of course, in the context of the agreements with Indonesia and India,” said a French official, granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door discussions.
The European Commission estimates that prioritizing the English version would cut almost a year off the time it takes to get those trade deals over the line.
The dispute is particularly sensitive for Paris, where defending the French language — once the principal language of international diplomacy — has been a core tenet of its foreign policy. France is meanwhile headed into a presidential election cycle where Euroskeptic and protectionist voices are increasingly shaping the political debate, making concessions on trade or national prestige especially explosive.
“However procedural it may appear, this measure touches on highly sensitive issues surrounding trade, language and French national prestige — handing powerful political ammunition to populist parties that polls repeatedly show are already standing at the gates of power,” said François Chimits, head of the Europe Program at the Paris-based Institut Montaigne.
Italy initially joined France in expressing concern, with Rome and Paris warning that the fast-track procedure would set a democratic and legal precedent. But it dropped its opposition on Thursday according to one of the people familiar.
“France isn’t dragging its feet; France cannot commit to an international document — such as a trade agreement — that is drafted in a language other than French,” a second French official said, citing constitutional obligations. “Voting on an English-only version would be a violation of the EU’s principle of multilingualism.”
Indonesia is the more pressing case. The text of the agreement has been on the table since late June but has yet to be put to a vote among EU ambassadors — one of the final hurdles before Commission President Ursula von der Leyen can sign it and it can enter into force.
Indonesia will cease at the start of next year to be a beneficiary of the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences — which grants lower tariffs to developing countries — making an agreement important if it wants to preserve preferential access.
Brussels is meanwhile slated to present the trade deal with India to EU capitals in the coming days. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected in Brussels in mid-December as a guest at the European Council, with a signature ceremony expected on the sidelines.
Despite the time pressure, two of the people played down the prospect of a serious roadblock. The objections are still being handled at the technical level and are not expected to derail either deal.
Koen Verhelst contributed reporting. This article has been updated.
Fonte: Foreign policy – POLITICO
