Speaking their native tongue is a basic right for MEPs, but then how does Parliament avoid a Babel-like cacophony? As Umberto Eco said, 'the language of Europe is translation'.

Multilingualism: in the fabric of Europe's identity

If in the EU Parliament  everyone spoke at the same time

the other MEPs would hear this  through their headphones...

And here in the Parliament, multilingualism  is a part of everyday business.

where the big decisions are made  and big debates take place.

And they take place with all MEPs present.

And each MEP has the right  to speak in their own language.

Respecting the language diversity is one of  the basic rights within the European Union.

'The Union shall respect cultural,  religious and linguistic diversity.'

To avoid any problems,  the Parliament has its own machine.

As the Italian novelist Umberto Eco said,

'the language of Europe is translation'.

In this Parliament, translation often means  simultaneous interpretation

Everybody has the right to use their own  language and will want to be understood.

of original documents like these  go through the translation mill.

The majority of original documents  are made in English

which are then translated  into all EU languages.

Expenditure on multilingualism represents  more than a third of Parliament's total.

If we take all the institutions combined,

the total cost of translation  and interpretation

comes to over 1 billion euros per year,  or about 2.3 euros per citizen.

There are 700 translators and  330 interpreters at the Parliament.

But during busy periods  like the plenaries,

In short: everybody can speak  their own language here.

It's one of the EU's strengths,  but also one of its challenges,

true to the motto, 'United in Diversity.'

It comes down  to the very fabric of identity,

it gives the sense of who we are  and where we came from,

Not to mention, European multilingualism

is an advantage  in the race to globalisation.

Europeans already have experience  in working with different languages.