Key role in European activity
Published: 10 March, 2010
Many people are aware that the British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) is the UK Trade Association for the compressed air industry and provides expert and impartial advice to members on technical, legislative, energy, environmental, and health and safety issues amongst its comprehensive list of services and benefits.
Not so many people are aware that BCAS also takes a key role in European activity and as such can also provide advice on compliance for Manufacturers and Suppliers who are trading across Europe.
One of the BCAS Fact Sheets that has just been revised is FCT020-1 EU Official Languages and is available as a download from www.bcas.org.uk
The European Union has 27 Member States and 23 official languages. Each Member State, when it joins the Union, stipulates which language or languages it wants to have declared official languages of the EU.
So the Union uses the languages chosen by its citizens' own national governments, not a single language or a few languages chosen by itself and which many people in the Union might not understand.
Please see FCT020-1 for the full list the 23 official EU languages - i.e. the ones used for EU business
In addition 6 Member States have declared more than one official language – again please see FCT020-1 for details. Please make note that certain of the Member States with two or more official languages accept the use of one language only in areas where only that language is spoken.
Manufacturers are advised to check this with the national authorities concerned.
Finally, when supplying machinery into the EU and EEA, all machinery must be accompanied by instructions in the official Community language or languages of the country in which it is placed on the market and/or put into service.
For a free copy of the Fact Sheet FCT020-1 please email technical@bcas.org.uk or go to www.bcas.org.uk and download it from the Products section on the toolbar.
