Spain won't push for Catalan as official EU language until all 27 member states back it

After two years of trying to make Catalan an official EU language, the proposal still seems as far from approval as when it started.

The Spanish government admitted on Tuesday that it will not continue to push the issue into debate until all 27 EU member states support the proposal.

Spain’s EU Secretary of State, Fernando Sampedro, said the government "will not give up" on seeking approval, but added that "there is no need for it to be on the agenda all the time."

"Spain will continue to work with all member states, we will not give up defending it, and we expect to make progress," he said.

However, past developments offer little reason for optimism. In July, the proposal was debated again in the EU, but once more failed to secure support from the 27.

The Spanish government has now ruled out bringing it up at meetings scheduled for September and October.

The proposal, pushed by the pro-independence party Junts as part of a broader political agreement with Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez, remains stalled.

Despite this, Sampedro hopes it will receive the unanimous support it needs "very soon."