Leonard Orban - speech 19.03.2009
Leonard Orban
European Commissioner for Multilingualism
"Multilingualism - challenges and opportunities of the world economy"
Conference on the economic challenges "Human face and the economic crisis" - Tallinn, 19 March 2009
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for the invitation to this very timely conference on how Europe can help to deal with the economic crisis.
In these difficult days, dialogue and openness are not just windowdressing. It is vital to exchange views and build a partnership approach. By standing together, we can solve this crisis faster and better.
In fact, the speed and depth of the crisis goes to show how interconnected our world is. As the crisis has unfolded, the importance of the EU dimension has become increasingly clear. The single market has provided the bedrock of EU economic growth for the past 15 years, creating millions of jobs, making Europe more competitive and more efficient.
It has shaped an interdependence like no other. All Member States trade more with each other than with the rest of the world. The best way to boost the economy is to work with the grain of this interdependence.
We must step up our partnership. So that we out come of this crisis together, in a way that protects all the people of the Union.
Such cooperation is the essential logic of the European Economic Recovery Plan adopted by European leaders at the European Council in December. The Recovery Plan aims to boost demand, restore confidence and break the downward spiral. It calls for an ambitious, co-ordinated fiscal stimulus, adapted to the needs of each country, linked to an acceleration of structural reforms.
The Plan is starting to have an effect. Fiscal injections are providing support across Europe. This stimulus must go hand-in-hand with speeding up reforms in order to meet the structural challenges. If we can continue to push forward reforms, especially the difficult ones, we can emerge stronger from this crisis. We must keep an eye on the longer-term – greening the economy; developing innovative and creative societies, Above all else – and I will come back to this point later – we should be doing all we can to give people the tools they need to cope, especially by continuing to invest in their skills.
The Recovery Plan alone will not solve all the problems that led to the crisis. We must work with equal urgency to repair the financial system – to put in place transparency and supervisory mechanisms that can instil genuine confidence. And we need co-ordinated action to get credit flowing again.
The Commission's recommendations for tackling these issues - in our Communication of 4 March "Driving European recovery" - are being discussed by European leaders at their Summit today and tomorrow. And next month the Commission will come forward with new ideas on hedge funds, on private equity and executive pay.
We now have in front of us the recommendations from the "High Level Group on Financial Supervision" chaired by Jacques de Larosière. It is critical that we act on these so that we can deliver stronger, coordinated financial supervision.
The situation in Estonia is certainly severe. The Commission welcomes the steps you have already taken - very difficult decisions to rein in spending, put public finances on a sound footing, and help deliver macro-economic stability.
Given Estonia's tight fiscal position, it is right to give priority to reforms that maximise the return on investment. Reforms like the ones you have taken to push through the modernisation of labour law. Reforms to ensure R&D results are translated into innovative services or products. Reforms to enforce competition rules. These are the areas the Commission and the Council asked Estonia to focus on to meet the Lisbon goals of growth and jobs.
No country has to go it alone. Responsibility is shared. The Commission will report to the June European Council on how every Member State is contributing to the Recovery Plan.
All Member States need to turn this crisis into an opportunity. Estonia should come out of this situation stronger, with a knowledge-based economy, delivering higher productivity and greener jobs. This calls for more effective research and innovation. It requires better education and training opportunities for all. To overcome challenges, every country should play to their strengths – and in Estonia's case, that certainly includes your high level of language skills.
On this note, let me turn to the policy that comes under my portfolio – using Europe's linguistic diversity and language skills for a triple purpose that I defined in the new strategy for multilingualism I issued last September.
A strong policy for multilingualism can support Europe during this crisis. It can help to raise citizens' skills and improve Europe's competitiveness. Multilingualism can build bridges between people that reinforce solidarity and social cohesion in a Europe founded on 'Unity in diversity'.
Today I will concentrate on how languages can help open doors to better jobs, economic growth and better access to international markets.
The EU Employment Summit in May will focus on jobs and skills during the crisis. It is imperative that we continue to invest in education and training. To equip people with skills to survive today's difficulties, and to thrive once we leave the crisis behind.
As the knowledge society develops, the nature of work changes. We are moving from a 'job-for-life' perspective to one where people will change job, and even career, several times. We have to prepare people for jobs that in themselves are changing. People don't just need technical skills – increasingly, employers are looking for a range of cross-cutting skills that especially focus on communication and language skills.
Every young person in Europe needs to be equipped with language skills when entering the labour market. We need choice and opportunities to learn languages, starting with our education systems and fanning out into lifelong language learning.
We must resist any short-term reflex that seeks to divert resources away from long-term priorities such as education. We must invest in language skills, in high-quality training of language teachers, backed up with modern teaching materials, methods and syllabi.
In higher education, we should be offering students and professors more opportunities to study abroad; all university students should have the chance to learn languages, either formally or non-formally; and we should cultivate stronger links between universities and business organisations to help fine-tune language and intercultural skills to business needs.
Languages are not only an investment in our children's future. They matter more, and more quickly, than you might think.
We have startling research that underlines this point. A study on business and languages we commissioned shows that around one in ten small enterprises in Europe are losing out on business because of a lack of language skills. Small businesses provide about two-thirds of total employment in Europe. So even a marginal rise in exports would have a huge impact on growth and jobs across the EU, including Estonia.
I instituted an expert Business forum for multilingualism to explore this issue further. Their report bears out the added value of languages for European companies. It underlines that we need a better partnership between business and business organisations, local and regional authorities, and education and training institutions to develop and share flexible, targeted language resources.
The report makes clear that English alone will not be enough. From a jobs point of view, as more people master English, the second or third language can make the difference for employers. And while, English is still the "lingua franca" for international business, demand for other languages is growing. Businesses are trading across Europe and with non-European markets. As we all know: with English you can buy anything in the world. But if you want to sell, you had better learn your client's language…
The report also makes the link between languages and integration. All too often, these links are overlooked on the European labour market.
And yet, lack of language skills is the most usual reason people give for not wanting to try job opportunities in other countries. The report also identifies how information technology can overcome language barriers – the potential of web-based translation applications, for example; or the growing opportunities for good multilingual communication via Internet, something even micro-companies should be able to use for their advantage.
And how does Estonia fare in all this?
Pretty well, in fact – Estonians come about 7th place for language skills in the EU, after some essentially bilingual countries such as Belgium, Luxembourg and Malta. You have brought in reforms in favour of foreign languages, introducing language learning at a very early stage.
However, figures for all languages other than English are dropping. Estonia's EU membership could be a springboard for other languages that boost skills and competitiveness. For the Baltic States, obviously, Russian is an important language in this context, and also the languages of other states of the Baltic Region.
With one-third of the population of ethnic origin other than Estonian, languages play a key role in integration within the country. Your national immersion programme is an excellent approach to integrating speakers of other languages within Estonian society while maintaining their cultural identity.
Estonia is also helping to improve language learning across Europe, by sharing ideas and good practices in other European countries, in language networks funded by our Lifelong Learning Programme.
As a next step, I intend to launch platforms for exchanging ideas on languages with civil society and business stakeholders, and I look forward to seeing Estonia at the table, helping to create a multilingual Europe.
Conclusion
I am not suggesting, of course, that better language learning can solve the economic crisis. But I am saying that it must be part of our response, encouraging Europeans to seize opportunities and be ready for the upturn.
We must summon up and act on European added-value across the board, in every policy area. A concerted effort on one front can bear fruit on another, in our interconnected world. So let me finish by underlining the value of the partnership approach you have demonstrated today.
We all need each other. Europe's strength is in solidarity, cohesion, coordination. Let us continue to stand together, united in diversity, as we work for recovery over the coming months.
Thank you.
Original speech: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/orban/news/docs/speeches/090319_Tallinn/Tallinn_March_2009_en.pdf
