Languages are the means of conveying information, particularly economic information. The creation of a single market in Europe requires that all partners in economic activity must be able to have access to information which, though at their disposal, is in languages other than their own. Conversely, economic partners must be able to communicate information intended for others not speaking their language. This issue of information transfer between languages is what constitutes translation.

In particular, the negative economic impact of multilingualism is doubly felt by European economic agents:

As producers of goods and services, they encounter additional obstacles when exporting. This translates into a loss of time and money, reducing their competitiveness.

As consumers of goods and services, they experience greater difficulty in keeping abreast of the most up-to-date technical developments, and in acquiring the most modern equipment. This results in a technological gap which in turn also diminishes competitiveness.

On the other hand, Europe can derive considerable economic advantage from the fact that it is the only significant economic-industrial bloc in the world with a need to find a solution to such problems. It has the unique opportunity to acquire valuable expertise in the field of language processing. This expertise can be economically leveraged in the framework of both monolingual and multilingual activities, on both the economic front (directly by selling its experience and accomplishments; indirectly by more easily overcoming other linguistic barriers in its relations with external economic partners: the Soviet Union, China, the Arabic-speaking world, Latin America, etc.), and in the social arena (by applying its progress to facilitate the integration of handicapped persons, etc.).

The development of vibrant and profitable language industries will assure for Europe a long term worldwide preeminence.