[thomascarney]

I think a broader question for the EU is whether ever greater integration is possible without some standardization around a common "admin" language.

Having lived in several EU countries, I love learning new languages, but it does make day-to-day life much harder, not to mention more complex topics such as starting companies.

It's conceivable that Germany could introduce English an official second language (having multiple official languages is common in the EU), even if just for certain sections of legal life.

At the end of the day, EU citizens have fairly robust rights to live and work in other EU countries, so it's not a privilege. Providing ways for those people to integrate better into the legal systems would be beneficial to creating a more unified Europe.

[hef19898]

There are a couple of official government languages in thr Ru. And for doing business within a certain country, local official languages apply. For international contracts, parties can simple agree on a different jurisdiction, in which case those jurisdictions languaged apply. But maybe all non-English speaking should just feel sorry for bothering the English speaking world with foreign languages.

For the EU so, the only English speaking country left is Ireland.

[thomascarney]

Ireland's first language is Irish, not English. Ireland has done pretty well embracing English as its operating language.