How the European Union grew from four official languages to 24
The European Union’s expansion over the past six decades has not only reshaped the bloc politically and economically, but has also made it one of the world’s most multilingual political institutions.
Main Points
- The EU expanded from 4 official languages in 1958 to 24
- The EU spends about €1 billion yearly to maintain its multilingual system
- EU citizens have the right to communicate with institutions in any official EU language
The European Union’s expansion over the past six decades has not only reshaped the bloc politically and economically, but has also made it one of the world’s most multilingual political institutions.
What began in 1958 with just four official languages, Dutch, French, German and Italian, has evolved into a system recognising 24 official languages.
According to the European Union, every citizen has the right to communicate with EU institutions in any official EU language and receive a reply in the same language.
The first major language expansion came in 1973 when Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community, adding Danish and English.
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Greek followed in 1981 after Greece entered the bloc, while Portuguese and Spanish were introduced in 1986 following the accession of Portugal and Spain.
The EU’s linguistic diversity expanded significantly after the 2004 enlargement, when 10 countries from Central and Eastern Europe joined the union in its largest single expansion. Languages including Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Slovak and Lithuanian became official EU languages almost overnight.
Bulgarian, Romanian and Irish gained official EU status in 2007, although full Irish-language implementation was phased in over time, while Croatian became the EU’s 24th official language after Croatia joined the bloc in 2013.
Despite Brexit, English remains one of the EU’s dominant working languages because of its widespread use in diplomacy, business and international communication across member states.
The European Parliament and European Commission rely heavily on translators and interpreters to manage the multilingual system. The European Parliament describes itself as one of the world’s largest employers of language professionals, with thousands of interpreters and translators working across institutions.
EU officials argue that multilingualism is essential for democratic participation, ensuring citizens can access laws, debates and public documents in their native languages.
However, maintaining the system is expensive and logistically complex. The EU spends roughly €1 billion annually on translation and interpretation services across its institutions.
The EU also recognises dozens of regional and minority languages, although these do not hold official EU status.
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Experts say the growth in official languages mirrors the EU’s broader political evolution from a small Western European economic community into a continental union spanning much of Europe.
