Just imagine an Italian wanting to fly into the UK to visit relatives, say, in Kent. Here he goes, contacting all and sundry but only mastering his native language. What do YOU reckon his chances for finding out Lydd might be a more appropriate a/d for him than Biggin Hill, or where fuel is available?
Time and again I found myself regarded with distrust - at best - as a foreigner - until I turned up a few words of local language. Even my ONE word of Lithuanian (sveiki!) has literally opened closed doors.
And it happens in all directions. Spain is VERY closed to any non-Spanish speaker. Speaking German in France remains a good recipe for disaster. But I am sure IO540 would have had a lot less trouble in Italy when contacting them in their own lingo, either himself or through a local friend.
And don't come and tell me English has a special statute as being the language of aviation. Unless I am much mistaken, ICAO recognises French and Russian at exactly the same level as English.
Yes, we recently have the English Language Proffiency, yes. I still have to see actual progress made from there. The idea is not bad, but one can't change a mentality overnight.