Maltese is the only Semitic language that is an official language of the European Union.
Maltese developed from Siculo-Arabic, the Arabic variety spoken in medieval Sicily and Malta. Over centuries, it absorbed substantial vocabulary from Sicilian and Italian, and later from English, while retaining a Semitic grammatical foundation.
Maltese became an official EU language when Malta joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. It is also an official language of Malta alongside English. Maltese is normally written in the Latin alphabet, making it distinctive among major modern Semitic languages.
Arabic is also Semitic and is an official language in many countries, but it is not an official EU language. Hebrew and Amharic are likewise Semitic languages, yet neither has EU official-language status. Maltese therefore occupies a unique position at the intersection of European and Semitic linguistic history.