Communicating

How do you say thank you to the locals in Bratislava? What are the international telephone prefixes? What will it cost to use a mobile phone abroad? Find the answers in this section.

Languages

Europe is rich in languages. The main language families in the EU include Germanic, Romance, Slav, Baltic and Celtic. The EU institutions have 23 official languages but there are many other lesser-spoken ones. There is more information about the languages of Europe, the language skills of its people and Commission programmes to encourage language learning and teaching on the Commission's website on languages. You can also hear examples of how the languages sound when they are spoken.

Many Europeans speak at least one other language as well as their mother tongue and over a quarter of the adult population speak at least two foreign languages. However, during your travels in Europe, try using a few phrases of the local language when talking to local people. Here's how to say 'thank you':

Bulgarian Blagodarya Czech Děkuji Danish Tak Dutch Bedankt English Thank you Estonian Aitäh Finnish Kiitos French Merci German Danke Greek Efkaristo Hungarian Köszönöm Irish Go raibh maith agat

Italian Grazie Latvian Paldies Lithuanian Ačiū Maltese Grazzi Polish Dziękuję Portuguese Obrigado Romanian Mulţumesc Slovak Ďakujem Slovene Hvala Spanish Gracias Swedish Tack

Telephone

There is just one prefix for making international telephone calls anywhere in the EU. It is 00.

The country codes are:

Austria 43 Belgium 32 Bulgaria 359 Cyprus 357 Czech Republic 420 Germany 49 Denmark 45 Spain 34 Estonia 372 France 33 Finland 358 United Kingdom 44 Greece 30 Hungary 36

Italy 39 Ireland 353 Luxembourg 352 Lithuania 370 Latvia 371 Malta 356 The Netherlands 31 Portugal 351 Poland 48 Romania 40 Sweden 46 Slovakia 421 Slovenia 386

Mobile phones

You can use your mobile phone anywhere in Europe and in many other parts of the world because of the EU’s GSM technical standard. Thanks to EU roaming rules, the cost of making calls when abroad in the EU is now 68% cheaper than in 2006 and the cost of receiving calls has gone down 81%. Meanwhile, the cost of sending roaming text messages has been cut by 60% since 2009 when price caps were introduced. Per second billing has been introduced after the first 30 seconds for calls made and from the first second for calls received.

Eurotariff maximum per minute roaming charge in euro (excluding VAT)

	Average charge summer 2006	1 July 2011 - 30 June 2012
Voice calls made abroad	€ 1.10	€ 0.35
Voice calls received abroad	€ 0.58	€ 0.11
Text sent from abroad	-	€ 0.11
Text received abroad	-	Free

Operators are free to offer cheaper rates so look out for the best deals.

Customers now receive an automated message of the charges that apply for calls, texts and data roaming services such as surfing the web or downloading movies. Wholesale caps for the prices charged between operators have been introduced which should lead to reduced charges for customers. A mechanism for protecting consumers from 'bill shock' in data roaming services has been introduced which means that, following a warning, the consumer’s mobile connection to the internet while abroad is cut when their bill reaches a specified limit. If the customer does not specify a limit, a default cut off limit of €50 per month is applied.

An EU website lists the Eurotariff offered by operators in all 27 EU countries and has links to their websites. Tariffs for sending text messages or using data services can also be compared.

Common charger

As a result of an EU initiative, nearly all manufacturers of data-enabled mobile phones have adhered to a new European standard providing compatibility with a common charger. Compatible mobile phones and chargers are gradually being introduced onto the European market.

Postage

Postage stamps can only be used in the country in which you buy them, even when priced in euro.

Electricity

All Europe has 220-240 volt, 50 cycle alternating current. Cyprus, Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom have square three-pin plugs but, in general, all other EU countries have two-pin plugs. These may vary but you should be able to use your appliances, such as hairdryers and shavers, anywhere. Adaptors can usually be bought in airports and tourist resorts.