2023-09-19 11:19:39
European Union
Catalan and Basque as official languages? The 27 are delaying
Spain made its request under pressure from Catalan separatists. The foreign ministers of member countries have asked for time for reflection.
PublishedSeptember 19, 2023, 1:19 p.m.
Recognize Catalan, Basque and Galician as official languages of the EU: this request from the Spanish government was debated on Tuesday by European Affairs Ministers, who raised objections and called for more time to decide. “We are not talking regarding minority languages,” argued Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares in Brussels. “Catalan is spoken by more than 10 million people, which places it above many of the languages of the representatives gathered around the table,” he said.
The European Union, where there are around sixty regional or minority languages, currently has 24 official languages. This status implies in particular that EU legal documents (treaties, regulations or international agreements) are translated into these languages, and that interpretation is available for summits and ministerial meetings. Such recognition requires a unanimous decision of the Twenty-Seven.
Demand from the separatists
The request from the government of outgoing Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, transmitted in the middle of August, was a demand from the Catalan separatists. The socialist leader will absolutely need them soon if he wants to hope to be returned to power.
A sensitive political situation well understood within the Twenty-Seven, some of whom, however, have little taste for the eagerness of Spain – which holds the six-monthly presidency of the Council of the EU – to put this subject on the agenda.
“Too early to say”
On Tuesday, caution was required among many ministers. “We are going to request a legal study to see how we can accommodate Spain on this subject,” declared the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Laurence Boone. Like her, the German, Croatian and Swedish ministers in particular called for an analysis of the legal but also financial consequences of such recognition.
“It is too early to say,” said Swedish Minister Jessika Roswall. “There are a large number of minority languages in the European Union that are not official languages,” she added, referring to a possible domino effect in other countries.
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, for his part, was delighted “that no member state had vetoed” the proposal, and announced the establishment of a “working group” to answer questions.
Catalan first
Faced with objections from member states to including three languages at once, Spain proposed that the process be gradual, giving priority to Catalan. Spain has also offered to cover the translation and interpretation costs linked to such a reform itself.
The financial implications of this proposal are being particularly scrutinized, at a time when difficult negotiations are underway on an extension to the EU’s multiannual budget, taking into account in particular the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
The linguistic debate has even reached the football field: Pep Guardiola, coach of Manchester City, and Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, both Catalans, called on Member States to move the lines, in videos posted in recent days on X (formerly Twitter).
In Spain, Catalan, Basque and Galician have the status of co-official languages, while Castilian (Spanish) is the only official language throughout the country. Since Tuesday, MPs who wish can speak in plenary session of the Spanish Parliament in these three languages, with simultaneous translation.
(AFP)Show comments
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