Draft law on granting English the status of a “language of international communication” submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
The President of Ukraine has submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada that would enshrine the status of English as a “language of international communication”
The relevant draft law has been published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada.
Draft Law No. 9432 “On the Use of the English Language in Ukraine” defines the norms for the use of English in the following areas:
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- In state and local authorities;
- In local governments;
- In the emergency units, when crossing the state border;
- In the areas of education, culture, transportation, healthcare, etc.
According to the project, English language skills will be required for:
- Civil service employees of category “A”;
- Civil service employees of categories B and C, the list of which is established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine;
- Heads of local state administrations, their first deputies and deputies;
- Military officers performing military service under a contract, the list of which is established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine;
- Middle and senior police officers of the National Police of Ukraine, positions of senior officers of other law enforcement agencies, positions of senior officers of the civil protection service, the list of which is established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine;
- Prosecutors;
- Tax and customs authorities, the list of which is established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine;
- Managers of public sector entities, the list of which is established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
The requirement for English language proficiency may be established by the appointing authority for candidates for positions in local self-government bodies (except for elected positions) whose main job duties include the performance of international cooperation functions.
The project’s rationale states that English is the official language in 58 of the 196 countries of the world, and de facto in a number of other countries and territories (Bangladesh, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, UAE). It is also one of the six languages of the United Nations and an official language of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the European Commission, the European Free Trade Association, and NATO.
It is emphasized that English is dominant at international conferences, in sports competitions, in the scientific community, and in the Internet community.
“Currently, more than 1.5 billion people are learning English in the world,” the document says.
It also emphasizes that this is a necessity for Ukraine’s European integration.
“Ukraine now has the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union, but still remains separated from the EU by a language barrier. Compared to other European countries, Ukraine lags behind in terms of its citizens’ willingness to communicate in a foreign language, including English. According to the 2021 data of the annual EF English Proficiency Index study on the level of English proficiency in different countries, Ukraine belongs to countries with an average level of English proficiency and ranks 40th in the ranking of 112 countries.“, the note says.
The project emphasizes that this is a necessary step for Ukraine’s membership in the EU.
