The context of the European elections and the debate on the official status of languages
The next European elections, scheduled for June 9, have revived the discussion about the official status of Catalan, Galician and Basque in the European Union. This issue, which has been stalled for eight months after five meetings, has been defended by Spain as a matter of national identity during meetings between the 27 member countries. Despite the efforts of the Spanish Government, several states, including Lithuania and Sweden, have shown reluctance. The Government has presented documents to counteract these reluctance, arguing the importance of converting these languages into official EU languages.
The path towards the official status of Catalan in the EU
The process to establish the official status of Catalan in the European Union began almost a year ago, during the negotiations to invest Pedro Sánchez and the semiannual presidency of Spain in the Council of the EU. Despite the Government’s efforts, several countries have expressed doubts and reluctance. Despite presenting a memorandum with conditions to prevent other languages from using the Catalan case to request official status, reluctance persists. The need for two reports, one on the cost of official status and another on the proposed modification, has generated a stagnation in the progress of this initiative.
Catalan in the European Parliament
The process to advance the use of Catalan in the European Parliament is also paralyzed. Although approval in the Council would mean the automatic use of Catalan in Parliament, the lack of majority support from the vice-presidents of the European Parliament Bureau has hindered this possibility. The Socialists, the main promoters of the measure along with the Greens/ALE, do not have the majority necessary to carry out the proposal.
