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There is a recent meeting of different EU top bosses, images here:

enter image description here

To the left, we can see Juncker. In the middle, Schulz. But who is the third person? He is not a translator (a translator is on the far right, in the background, with the headset).

Btw, where is the headset on them? As I know, Schulz has a German first language, while Juncker uses probably French. As I know, politicians don't like to talk on foreign languages with eachother (except if they have a really good contact or they can talk on a nearly native level), because it would be a disadvantage for them.

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  • The picture is kind of funny. One man kisses another on the (quite bold) forehead and the man next to them exercises his face muscles. One could think of a religious ceremony. :)
    – NoDataDumpNoContribution
    Commented May 27, 2016 at 7:54
  • @Trilarion Maybe you aren't too far from the reality. :-( The EU is sick...
    – Gray Sheep
    Commented May 27, 2016 at 8:12
  • @MorningStar I said a religious ceremony, not sick. Anyway I think you are exaggerating. The EU is not optimal but compared to other areas of the world, it's a paradise. Wherever you live I guess your country has it's problems too. One advantage of the EU is that the member countries have to arrange politically with each other. This is rather a good thing.
    – NoDataDumpNoContribution
    Commented May 27, 2016 at 8:37
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    @MorningStar Although there are also important differences. If Britain would be part of the Sovietunion, instead of a Brexit referendum there would be Russian tanks rolling over the Tower Bridge right now. But you are right. I never understood why politicians have to kiss each other. Shaking hands should totally be enough.
    – NoDataDumpNoContribution
    Commented May 27, 2016 at 9:01
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    I think you mistake Politics for a discussion forum.
    – NoDataDumpNoContribution
    Commented Jul 25, 2016 at 11:08

2 Answers 2

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As Daria has already said, the third person is Nigel Farage.

They may have no headset. Schulz is a German native speaker, but also speaks French quite well (http://www.euractiv.com/section/languages-culture/news/next-eu-commission-president-will-be-a-polyglot/). This Youtube video shows that Martin Schulz is capable of discussing political issues in French. Unfortunately, we don't know whether Farage speaks, or at least understands, French at the same level.

In any case, they might be speaking French, English or German. In fact, the first link I quoted states that both Schulz and Juncker are fluent in English:

Martin Schulz, the socialist candidate and current President of the European Parliament, speaks perfect English, French and German (his mother tongue). [...]

His main opposition, Jean-Claude Juncker, candidate for the European Peoples Party (EPP), speaks fluent English, French, German and Luxembourgish (his mother tongue). He also speaks Latin, which will probably not give him a competitive advantage.

I place German as a third choice, since I'm not sure Farage speaks German.

The person on the background with a headset may not be a translator, but simply a TV journalist during a live broadcast who just happened to be there.

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Nigel Farage, current leader of UKIP. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Farage

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