The number of European Union citizens who can speak at least one foreign language has increased from 47% in 2001 to 56% in 2005, according to a special Eurobarometer poll on Europeans and their languages. In the case of Malta, 88% of respondents said they consider English as their second language, followed by Italian (66%) and French (17%).
In 16 EU Member States, EU citizens cited English as their first foreign language. Only three Member States referred to French as their first foreign language.
The poll also showed that half of Europeans agree with the EU's political target that everyone in the EU should be able to speak two languages in addition to their mother tongue. There were 44% of respondents who opposed this objective.
Around half of Europeans (44%) know only their mother language. This is especially the case in Ireland (66%), the United Kingdom (62%), Italy (59%), Hungary and Portugal (58% each), Spain (56%), France (49%) and Germany (33%).
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