Language is the transmission medium for information, in particular for economic information. The creation of a single European market requires that each partner in its economic activities has access to economic news made available to him in languages other than his own, and conversely that he can communicate messages that he intends for speakers of other languages. This is the problem of information transfer between languages, in other words translation.

In point of fact the negative economic impact of multiple languages is twofold for European economic actors:

As producers of goods and services they are impeded by extra obstacles when they wish to make exports, which are translated into losses of time and additional costs, resulting in an inferior competitive position.

As users of goods and services they experience difficulty in maintaining an up-to-date awareness of new technical developments and in obtaining the most modern tools, which results in a technological shortfall and consequently again in a loss of competitive position.

On the other hand, the simple fact of being the sole large economic and industrial bloc in the world which has to find a solution to these problems could also lead to considerable economic advantage for Europe. Here we have a unique opportunity to acquire precious know-how in the field of language handling, which we will be able to exploit both on the economic level (directly by selling our know-how and products; indirectly by the easing of other language barriers in our relationship with external trading partners: the USSR, China, the Arab world, Latin America, etc) and on the social level (by using the knowledge and experience gained to assist in the integration of the handicapped, and so on) in single language activities as well as in multilingual ones.

The development of a healthy and profitable language industry would ensure a worldwide European supremacy in the longer term.