Influence of English is fading, says EU chief Juncker

By Crispian Balmer | FLORENCE, ITALY European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took a swipe at Britain on Friday, saying he would not give a speech in English because the language was becoming less significant following Brexit. “Slowly but surely English is losing importance in Europe,” Juncker told a conference in Florence before switching into French and drawing applause from his audience of EU officials, local leaders and Italian students. Juncker, who hails from Luxembourg, speaks several European languages fluently and regularly uses English at international gatherings. He said he also…