In the UK, Members of Parliament and Peers have made an official plea to protect language skills and language-related rights in the Brexit negotiations.

An All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages has produced “Brexit and Languages: A checklist for Government negotiators and officials“, which highlights four essential language-specific objectives of the Brexit process.

1.  Guaranteeing residency status for EU nationals already living in the UK and safeguarding future recruitment of EU citizens to address the shortage of language skills.
2. Continuing full UK participation in the Erasmus+ programme (noting the examples of  Norway and Switzerland).
3. Committing to legislate to replicate the rights enshrined in the 2010 European Directive on the Right to Interpretation and Translation in Criminal Proceedings.
4. A post-Brexit plan in education (from primary school to post-graduate research, including apprenticeships), business and the civil service, with specific actions to ensure the UK produces sufficient linguists to meet its future requirements as a leader in global free trade and on the international stage.

For further information:

Campaign standalone website: http://brexitlanguagesappgmfl.weebly.com/
APPG MFL website: https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/schools/support-for-languages/thought-leadership/appg
Twitter: @APPGMFL
Email: APPGMFL@gmail.com