It Would Actually Be a Big Deal if Brussels Made English an Official Language

I always thought hell would freeze over before a continental European city would consider making English an official language. It seems I was wrong. Last month, Belgian politician Pascal Smet suggested that it was time Brussels formally accepted English as a language of government, education, and everyday life.

Smet, who serves as Minister for Education in Flanders, a region that 60 percent of Belgium's population calls home, insists that adopting English as the metropolitan region's third official language (after French and Dutch) is a vital step if Brussels is to become a truly international city. While the plan is as yet more of an aspiration than proposed legislation, even suggesting it is a huge step. And with this step follows an even thornier question: Is Brussels acting as an early warning system for an upcoming trans-European shift toward English?