The practice of appointing EU ambassadors : la langue est-elle importante?

Pajtinka, Erik (author)

The study tries to discover to what extent knowledge of the local language of a diplomat’s host country, and language skills generally, are considered while selecting candidates for EU delegation heads in the European External Action Service. With this aim, the study examines possible correlations between languages spoken by the EU delegation heads and the official languages in their respective host countries. It is concluded that a correlation often exists between the language(s), and especially mother tongues, spoken by the EU delegation heads and the official language(s) in the countries to which they are posted and, thus, a candidate’s knowledge of the host country’s official language is usually taken into account in the selection of candidates for EU delegation heads, although this criterion seems to carry different weight for candidates from various EU member countries

• Language: English
• Keywords: knowledge of foreign languages, diplomacy, diplomatic services, heads of EU delegations, personnel policy
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 31.12.2021
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: Str. 1117–1132, 1158-1159
• Numbering: Letn. 58, št. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-138738
• UDC: 005.953.2:341.71:061.1EU
• ISSN on article: 0040-3598
• DOI: 10.51936/tip.58.3.1117-1132
• COBISS.SI-ID: 92168195
• Publication date in RUL: 11.08.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja
• Shortened title: Teor. praksa
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 763652

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Praksa imenovanja veleposlanikov EU

Abstract

V raziskavi poskušamo ugotoviti, koliko se pri izbiri kandidatov in kandidatk za vodje delegacij Evropske unije v Evropski službi za zunanje delovanje upošteva poznavanje lokalnega jezika diplomatove oz. diplomatkine države gostiteljice in njegove oz. njene jezikovne kompetence nasploh. S tem namenom v raziskavi obravnavamo morebitne korelacije med jeziki, ki jih govorijo vodje delegacij EU, in uradnimi jezikih njihovih držav gostiteljic. Sklenemo, da med jeziki, zlasti maternimi, ki jih govorijo vodje delegacij EU, in uradnim jezikom oz. jeziki v državah, kjer so nameščeni oz. nameščene, pogosto obstaja korelacija, zato se kandidatovo oz. kandidatkino znanje uradnega jezika države gostiteljice navadno upošteva pri izbiri kandidatov in kandidatk za vodje delegacij EU, čeprav ta kriterij ne nosi enake teže za kandidate in kandidatke iz različnih držav članic EU

• Keywords: znanje tujih jezikov, diplomacija, diplomatske službe, vodje delegacij EU, kadrovska politika