Spain 'won't stop' trying to achieve Catalan official status in EU institutions

The Spanish government has said it "will not stop" trying until European Union institutions officially recognize the Catalan, Basque, and Galician languages.

The cabinet is "optimistic" about the measure's approval and downplays the fact that the topic will not be debated at Tuesday's EU General Affairs Council meeting, Spain's secretary of the EU, Fernando Sampedro, said.

He said that the measure doesn't need to be on the agenda to be green-lighted, "for it not to be on the annotated draft agenda, it does not mean it disappears, all EU Member States are aware that the topic is still on the table," he told media outlets in Brussels.

The last time the official status of the Catalan language within the EU was debated was on July 18, during the previous EU General Affairs Council. The debate lasted over 1:30h, and the vote was pushed back once again, as several countries expressed their concerns, such as Germany, Finland, Sweden, and Austria.

Months before the meeting, sources of the conservative People's Party acknowledged calling several European party members to vote against the proposal by the Socialist Spanish PM, Pedro Sánchez.

Sampedro said that the Spanish cabinet "continues to work with all Member States at all levels" and that the decision in July proved that the government's proposal "does not leave room for any future similar situations."

"We simply believe that the proposal should be green-lighted as soon as possible, and we will continue to defend our position," Sampedro said.

Asked if the cabinet would propose discussing the topic, once again ahead of a vote, the secretary said, "The moment we have solid proof that there is unanimity, it could quickly be debated at any EU General Affairs Council meeting."

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