MP suggests single Euro language

Prescott 'could be the spokesman for the Eural'

A whole new language needs to be dreamt up and used across European Union institutions in an effort to cut translation costs, a Conservative MP has suggested.

Peter Viggers suggested the new single European language could be called Eural and have as its British spokesman John Prescott, often accused of mangling English.

The union's 11 official languages already produced 110 language combinations, a number which would rise to 506 with EU enlargement, he said.

Mr Viggers admitted his idea for a new language called "Eural" was fanciful but argued something needed to be done about the EU's £150m a year translations bill.

English would have been his prefered choice, as it was the world's third most used language and was first tongue in 104 nations, said Mr Viggers.

Peter Viggers: Worried about translation bill

But he said: "The chances of persuading the French to give up French as the second de facto drafting language in the EU is zero."

The Gosport MP continued: "As with the currency, instead of choosing the strongest and most widely used, the EU chose to create something new and artificial called the euro.

"Following that precedent, it would be logical to create a European language."

The idea might be "fanciful", he said, but so was having a single currency based on a growth and stability pact called stupid by the head of the European Commission.

Who better than Mr Prescott to be the UK minister responsible for Eural, he asked.

The Single European Language Bill produced by Mr Viggers was given a first reading in Parliament but stands no chance of becoming law.