Ireland will not reopen Catalan EU language debate unless consensus emerges

Ireland has ruled out reopening discussions on granting Catalan official language status in the European Union during its rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, which runs from July 1 until the end of the year.

The government of Micheál Martin takes over from Cyprus, which led discussions among EU member states in Brussels over the past six months.

During the Cypriot presidency, the issue of making Catalan an official EU language was not discussed.

Although Ireland has backed recognition of Catalan, Ireland's ambassador to the EU, Aingeal O'Donoghue, said the issue would not be addressed until there is consensus among member states or a change compared with the last time it was discussed – in July last year.

Ireland’s presidency is its first since Irish became an official EU language in January 2022. 

Asked by the Catalan News Agency (ACN) whether Ireland would be willing to bring the debate on Catalan's official status back to the table, O'Donoghue said she had "always admired the way the Catalan language survived throughout the Franco era" and praised the "close ties" between Ireland and Catalonia.

However, O'Donoghue said that "at this time" there is still no consensus among member states to approve the measure.

Debate stalled

The last time the issue was debated at a meeting of EU affairs ministers, at the request of the Spanish government, was on July 18 last year.

The discussion lasted almost an hour, but ministers ended the debate without putting the issue to a vote, despite the Spanish government of Pedro Sánchez presenting a new proposal aimed at addressing the other member states' legal and financial concerns.

During that meeting, Spain's Secretary of State for the EU, Fernando Sampedro, became involved in a discussion with his German counterpart, Gunther Krichbaum.

Diplomatic sources present in the room described the exchange as "tense."

A few months later, in October last year, Spain and Germany announced the opening of "bilateral dialogue" aimed at bringing their positions closer together.

Germany has led opposition to adding Catalan to the EU's list of official languages, alongside countries including Sweden, Finland and Austria.

Ireland is among the few member states that have supported the Spanish government's request, together with Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg.