SNP President Ian Hudghton MEP has welcomed a new initiative that allows the Irish language to be used in the European Parliament. Irish became an official working language of the European Union on 1 January 2007 and this week in Strasbourg has been the first time that Irish speaking MEPs have been able to use their own language in Parliamentary debates. The SNP has been campaigning to enhance the status of Scots Gaelic in Europe and the SNP MEP said that the new improved status of Irish would be an important boost for the campaign.

Speaking from Strasbourg, Ian Hudghton MEP said:

"My congratulations go to our Irish colleagues on achieving this historic milestone. This week we heard Irish spoken for the first time as an official language on the floor of the European Parliament. This will certainly raise the profile of Irish language and culture and provide a much needed boost to this ancient language. For some time we've been campaigning to improve the status of Scots Gaelic in Europe. I've called repeatedly for Scotland's Gaelic speakers to be able to use their native language in correspondence with the EU institutions and what's been achieved with Irish shows what can be done if the political will exists. Improving the status of Scots Gaelic in Europe would be important for native speakers and would also help raise the profile of Scotland's Gaelic speaking areas, with all the potential economic benefits that would go with that. It's now up to the Scottish Executive to make the appropriate representations to the London government in order to take this forward."