If the union is to continue without trouble, Spain needs not just multilingualism, but enthusiastic multilingualism.
The EU has been celebrating its diversity of language, with press releases timed to coincide with the European Day of Languages last week boasting that "Love is... Multilingualism".
Federal Switzerland, often recognised for its multilingualism and respect for regional linguistic variation, gives considerable fiscal autonomy to its cantons.
Consider the heated scenes at a meeting on November 13th, when the commissioner for multilingualism challenged the commissioner for justice, freedom and security to speed up a probe into an Italian government decree allowing local authorities to deport Romanian immigrants.
Ordinary Romanians might feel (more) disappointed with the muted EU response to the Italian fiasco, were Mr Orban not there to pile in on their behalf, his multilingualism dossiers temporarily cast to the winds.Efficiency offers a strong argument for shrinking the commission.
This points to an unsettling conclusion for advocates of multilingualism: in a union of many languages, increasingly there is but one language.
So be it; the union's multilingualism is a part of its own official motto.
My colleague argued in favour of multilingualism in Spain on the grounds that speakers of Castilian Spanish should be "proud to learn their country's other languages".
The situations are different (Switzerland is a stable confederation with medieval roots, Belgium a rickety federation born in 1830, Luxembourg a tiny grand duchy), but they have one thing in common: multilingualism in the country's native languages is considered a duty of good citizenship for all.Spain, meanwhile, privileges one language.
Local moneymen hope it will add to Luxembourg's allure as a wealth-management centre.Aside from its multilingualism and its location at the heart of Europe, Luxembourg's main attraction as a financial centre has been its forgiving approach to taxation, for both individuals and businesses.
With such a public embrace of multilingualism, the state could shed its monocultural reputation entirely.
