2023-10-24 12:51:11
Spain keeps alive the proposal that Catalan, Basque and Galician be official languages of the EU and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, sees it as a cause for celebration: “When it comes to unanimity, the votes do not matter, Vetoes matter and there are no vetoes.” Thus, the Spanish request remains on the table of the 27 after a new meeting of the General Affairs Council, despite the reservations expressed by several countries. For the acting Government, the request is key given that it is one of Pedro Sánchez’s commitments and Junts has raised the tone by demanding more diplomatic efforts given that, it warns, “the time of discount” has arrived.
Albares brought up the matter again at the meeting held in Luxembourg this Tuesday after the proposal was examined for the first time on September 19. At that time, several countries expressed their doubts regarding the inclusion of these three languages in the EU’s official catalogue. The head of European diplomacy has arrived with a more polished speech by ensuring not only that Spain will bear the costs but with an argument that points to the “specificity of the Spanish case” to prevent the debate from opening up to 80 languages. minorities that exist on the continent.
“The proposed reform is limited exclusively to the case of Spain, given that it meets unique requirements in the Union and, therefore, other languages will not be able to benefit from this reform if the Member State does not wish to do so,” he noted after the Council meeting. of General Affairs. Among the particularities that distinguish Catalan, Basque and Galician, he has mentioned their recognized status in the constitutional order, their use in the Spanish Parliament, the administrative agreements that govern their use in the European Union for decades, as well as the deposit of certified copies. of the treaties before the Council of the European Union in those languages. “This whole group of conditions is only met by the Spanish co-official languages in the Union,” said Albares, who has insisted that it will be the State that will cover the extraordinary expenses involved in going from 24 to 27 official languages.
However, the ministry still does not know how much this expense will entail and until last week the mandatory reports were not formally required from the services of the European institutions. Once they have them, Spain will formally propose an “adapted proposal” to the rest of the European partners that includes those conditions that make Spanish a “unique case.”
At the moment, these three languages have an intermediate status since they can be used in some circumstances. Citizens can address institutions in those languages and obtain a response in them. It is the autonomies that are in charge of the translations. In the case of the Council of the EU and the Committee of the Regions, there is interpretation from those languages. This formula, agreed in 2005, has only cost the central administration 60,000 euros in seven years.
Despite the exclusivity framework in which Albares has presented the proposal, there are still countries that express their reservations about expanding the catalog of official languages. On this occasion, the one who has most clearly shown his rejection has been the Foreign Minister of Latvia, Krišjānis Karins. “I don’t think we will extend the number of languages officially used in the EU at the moment,” he said upon his arrival at the meeting. Asked about the doubts it generates, he responded: “I don’t think it is the number one issue right now. We have many issues on the table, we have geopolitics and the strategic position of the EU in the future and this is what I think we should be spending our time on right now.” Sweden, Finland and Lithuania are other countries that have reserves.
Albares did not want to set a date on which the final decision could be made on the official status of Catalan, Basque and Galician and that is one of the demands put forward by Junts. The inclusion of Catalan in the EU language catalog is one of the conditions for Sánchez’s investiture. “There has been progress but the Spanish Government must intensify diplomatic efforts and must be aware that we are in discount time,” they warn from the party, whose seven votes are essential for there to be a Government.
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