EU Multilingualism Androulla Vassiliou backed the so-called 'Paris Declaration', issued on 23 June, which saw the heads of language and conference services of 76 international organisations call for "the necessary budgetary resources" to be allocated to "effective succession planning" for upcoming staff retirements, as well as "pedagogical assistance activities" and examinations.
They were meeting at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris for the International Annual Meeting on Language Arrangements, Documentation and Publications (IAMLADP), which took place from 21-23 June.
The Paris Declaration warned that a "global shortage of qualified linguists" meant that without a new generation of professionals trained with the necessary language skills, "international organisations will be unable to perform their vital tasks".
Commissioner Vassiliou stressed the EU executive's commitment to supporting efforts to encourage language learning in schools and universities as part of EU multilingualism policy.
"We need to get the message across to parents and young people that languages open doors and linguists have excellent career prospects," Vassiliou said.
Indeed, fears that the EU will face a "serious shortage" of interpreters within five to 10 years have led its institutions to run joint awareness-raising campaigns this year to encourage young people to consider language careers in Brussels.
European Commission representatives were in France last November alongside colleagues from the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice to advertise careers as interpreters at the European Education Salon in Paris (EurActiv 20/11/09).
November's effort follows earlier initiatives to boost interest in EU language careers among native English (EurActiv 18/02/09), Czech and Latvian speakers amid fears of a "succession crisis".
The Paris Declaration, meanwhile, urged national authorities to "promote the teaching of languages throughout the education system in order to ensure that young people can take advantage of the vast range of employment openings in international organisations".
