Spain says no EU country will veto bid to make Catalan official

Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, has said that no European Union member state intends to veto the use of Catalan in EU institutions.

"I cannot say the day it will become official, but I can guarantee that it will," he told the Spanish Senate's foreign affairs committee on Friday.

"All the states that need to agree to it – the other 26 – have already told me they will not veto it, but simply need more time," he added.

Albares also called on the conservative People's Party (PP) to stop "sabotaging" the initiative in Europe, which also seeks to extend official status to Galician and Basque.

"There is no dishonour in supporting official languages. Let's make this a shared success," he said.

The Spanish government has recently insisted it will "not give up" on securing official EU status for Catalan, Basque and Galician despite a lack of progress in recent months. 

For now, Germany remains the main source of hesitation, with Madrid in contact with Berlin on the issue.

The question of granting official status to the three languages has not returned to the table of EU ministers since July 2025, coinciding with the start of Denmark's presidency of the Council of the EU. 

The issue has not been addressed at ministerial level under Cyprus's presidency, which began on January 1, 2026.

Podcast

Listen to our podcast from October 2023 to learn more about the origins of the efforts to make Catalan an official European language.