Spain will prioritize the implementation of Catalan in the EU over Basque and Galician

“We have doubts” and “we need more time before deciding” have been the phrases most repeated by European ministers regarding the recognition of Catalan, Basque and Galician in the European Union. The Spanish proposal, key to achieving the support of Junts and ERC for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, is still on the table, but the ministers of the Twenty-Seven have decided to postpone without a date their decision on the matter, which requires unanimity within the Council European. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has stated that Spain will prioritize the implementation of Catalan in the EU over Basque and Galician, given the “doubts” of several countries for wanting to include three languages ​​at once.

The discussion barely lasted 40 minutes and concluded without a vote, after Spain confirmed that it does not have the necessary support to carry out its proposal. European ministers have asked for “more time” and a legal opinion from the European Council on the economic and practical impact of this measure. Sweden, Finland and Ireland had already raised their reluctance in the preparatory meetings for the meeting. And this Tuesday they demonstrated them again. «We have legal and financial doubts. “We are concerned about the consequences, as there are many minority languages ​​that are not official in the EU,” said Swedish Minister for European Affairs Jessika Roswall. Her Finnish counterpart, Anders Adlercreutz, also referred to the need to analyze the legal consequences: “It is too early to make a decision,” she said.