The European Union

The European Union: the more languages, the more English
Words of the World Policy by Abram De Swaan (2001)

New Words
-The city boasts a fine library.
-He hopes one day to surpass the world record.
-The wind dislodged one or two tiles from the roof.
-The stadium is adjacent to the school.
-This system perpetuated itself for several centuries.
-I intend to challenge the legitimacy of his claim.
-Ice dissolves into water.
-During the winter the seeds lie dormant in the soil.
-I’m in a terrible predicament.
-The letter was deliberately couched in very vague terms.

Main points and additional information about EU
-The EU had 15 members in 2001. 11 languages were recognized as official languages, which needed a great number of translators and interpreters.
-The EU has 27 member states and 23 official languages as of 2008.
-English is a dominant language in EU.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_European_Union