France will push back against a European Commission plan to fast-track ratification of trade agreements by circulating only English-language versions during talks with EU governments and lawmakers, skipping translation into the bloc’s 24 official languages, according to several sources.
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The slow ratification of the contentious EU–Mercosur trade deal has frustrated the Commission, which wants to accelerate negotiations and bring deals into force more quickly as it seeks new markets amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Translating the agreements into every official EU language can take months due to the legal scrubbing required before the ratification process begins. The EU executive has confirmed to Euronews that trade chief Maroš Šefčovič told EU trade ministers in February that the trade deal with India concludedon 27 January could serve as a test case for using English as the main language during ratification.
“We lost almost €300 billion by not having the Mercosur agreement in place since 2021, if it comes to the GDP, and more than €200 billion in export opportunities,” Šefčovič told journalists after meeting ministers on 20 February, adding that once negotiations end it can take up to 2.5 years before businesses can operate in partner countries.
“In today’s world, we cannot simply lose the time,” he said.
Šefčovič said the Commission would ensure the agreements are translated into all 24 official EU languages once published in the Official Journal, i.e. after ratification. He added the proposal was backed by at least seven member states at the meeting, though not all countries had time to speak.
French sources who spoke to Euronews were insistent that Paris would vigorously oppose the move to English-only agreements if necessary.
“As a matter of principle, we defend the use of all the languages of the Union, and in particular French, which is one of the EU’s working languages,” one official told Euronews.
‘Transparency, precision and understanding’
Language policy in the bloc’s institutions remains politically sensitive for countries such as France, whose language has declined sharply over the past decades as English massively dominates daily work in the European Union institutions – despite French, German and English being the three working languages.
“Switching entirely to English raises a legal and democratic issue, and the Commission is well aware of it,” an EU diplomat told Euronews.
On its website, the European Commission says linguistic diversity is essential and that the EU promotes multilingualism in its institutional work.
The bloc once even had a commissioner dedicated to multilingualism, though the portfolio was gradually merged with others and eventually disappeared.
“I have the impression that in some cases the Commission seizes the opportunity to push the idea that English has a superior status, and that the other official languages are translation languages that can come later,” Michele Gazzola, expert in language policy, said.
He added that relying only on English during ratification could pose problems for members of the European Parliament, and even more so if national parliaments are involved.
“It’s a matter of transparency, precision and understanding.”
UK holidaymakers travelling to popular destinations like Spain and Greece could be turned away at airports
12:43, 24 Feb 2026Updated 13:08, 24 Feb 2026
If you have a British passport you’ll need to follow this rule(Image: Andy Soloman via Getty Images)
British holidaymakers jetting off to Spain, Greece and many other countries must follow a post-Brexit rule – or be refused boarding at the airport. While the prospect of an overseas getaway is thrilling, it’s important for travellers to be aware of all requirements before setting off.
This has become especially vital following Brexit, which has introduced new regulations in recent years. Prior to Britain’s departure from the European Union (EU), UK passport holders could visit the Schengen Area without requiring passport stamps and weren’t subject to any time limits on their stays.
However, British visitors are now limited to a maximum of 90 days during any 180-day period. To assist with this, an application called Schengen Simple has been developed.
George Cremer, founder of Schengen Simple, said: “We built a travel app that handles the 90/180 calculation for exactly this reason. The tricky part most people miss is that it’s a rolling 180-day window, not a fixed calendar period.
“So someone who did a long summer trip to Spain might unknowingly be restricted on a winter break months later. The European Commission has its own calculator, but it only looks backwards.
“It tells you how many days you’ve used, not how many you have left for a future trip. That’s the gap we fill. Users enter past and upcoming travel and can see exactly how long they can stay without risking an overstay.”
The Foreign Office’s guidance for all Schengen nations warns: “If you overstay the 90-day visa-free limit, you may be banned from entering Schengen countries for up to 3 years.”
The Schengen area consists of: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Travel expert Simon Calder warns that dual British citizens with expired UK passports could face £589 certificate fees as new electronic travel authorisation rules come into force from February 25
14:11, 20 Feb 2026Updated 14:11, 20 Feb 2026
Mr Calder issued the advice for Brits heading to the airport(Image: Getty Images)
An ETA serves as digital travel permission – it’s neither a visa nor a tax and doesn’t guarantee UK entry – rather, it authorises someone to journey to Britain. However, Mr Calder highlighted another aspect that could trip people up.
Speaking to the Independent, he warned that British citizens holding out-of-date passports might encounter problems. He explained: “There’s growing confusion and concern about electronic borders. The first change that’s going to be happening is on the 25th of February.
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“It’s going to be mandatory for everyone who is not a British or Irish citizen and who wants to travel to the UK to register for the electronic travel authorisation. This is the online permit that increasingly many countries are demanding.
“That is clear, except that it also means that dual citizens who have the right to live in the UK have to enter on a British passport or have a certificate of entitlement to live in the UK. British passports cost £94.50. That certificate of entitlement is £589. And there is concern that a lot of people who are British citizens but don’t have a valid passport for all sorts of reasons-they’ve never needed one, they had one but it lapsed, they’ve got a perfectly good passport from somewhere else-they are going to have to have either that passport or the certificate of entitlement if they want to come to the UK.
“Again, this does not apply to anybody with the immense wisdom and good fortune to have an Irish passport, because that is the passport with superpowers that will get you in and out of the UK and indeed the European Union without any problems at all.”
According to the 2021 Census, approximately 1.26 million usual residents across England and Wales held multiple passports. The Home Office has cautioned that airlines will be verifying passengers have the correct documentation.
The right of abode that Mr Calder references permits you to live or work in the UK without any immigration restrictions whatsoever. If you possess the right of abode, you do not require a visa or ETA to enter the UK.
There’s no cap on how long you can remain in the country. Concerns have also emerged regarding Europe’s new biometric border system currently being introduced.
Several airports have allegedly experienced delays stretching up to six hours, prompting warnings of potential travel ‘chaos’.
The European Commission indicated it might be feasible to suspend the new system during busy periods until September. Mr Calder explained: “The European Union’s entry-exit system started to be rolled out in October. By the 9th of April, it is supposed to be in a position where everybody is able to enter or exit through those Schengen area frontiers, just being fingerprinted on the first occasion and having a facial biometric taken. After that, it’s going to be the facial biometric all the way.
“Now, the airports and the airlines are saying it’s a terrible thing, it’s not working properly. We’ve already seen two-hour queues; they’re warning of four-hour queues in the summer. They want it to be suspended. No sense that it will be or not at the moment. Europe says it is going well, but don’t be surprised if it is.
“The only advice I can offer, because this is simply something that’s done to you-you don’t need to prepare for it-is when you’re coming back from the Schengen area, I would turn up at the airport really early just to make sure you make your plane, because it applies on the way out as well as on the way in to the Schengen area.”
