This memoir examines the basis and development of the Plain Language Movement (PLM), the official relationship between plain language and the European Union, and the application of plain-language guidelines to EU translation with a particular focus on translation from French into English. It uses various aspects of translation theory, including Skopos theory, deverbalization, and intralinguistic translation, to explore reasons that EU translations are still notoriously murky and unclear and to make recommendations for applying PLM guidelines to future EU translations. It concludes with a case study comparing standard and plain-language French>English translations of an EU text.