Sánchez once again encounters the 'no' from several EU partners to making Catalan official despite the fact that Spain would assume the cost of the measure

Spain continues to have the issue of the official status of Catalan, Galician and Basque in the EU marked in red on its agenda, with priority for the former.. But once again he has encountered the refusal of several partners every time that the acting Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, puts the issue on the table this Tuesday at the General Affairs Council taking place in Luxembourg.. Latvia, for example, has assured that this step “is not a priority” for the bloc right now and also has internal reasons: it has a Russian-speaking minority in the country, so it could open the door to a petition regarding the use of Russian. Despite this, the debate will continue at a technical level.

Albares himself has once again defended the measure and has insisted that the cost of the measure will be assumed by Spain.. However, a final decision is not expected after today's summit, but the acting Government has already received criticism. “We already warned: the EU does not allow itself to be blackmailed by Sánchez's electoral interests. We need a Government that defends what truly matters in Europe, not a president who makes us look ridiculous,” Cs has reacted through its leader, Adrián Vázquez.

Furthermore, Latvian reluctance joins the already known concerns of Finland and Sweden, which, like other EU members, focus on the costs and legal viability of the measure, while Lithuania supports its rejection on the “impact.” political” of the measure. France, for its part, is cautious but insists that it will do its part to “help Spain”. Some other voices consider that this is an internal matter with no real significance for the EU.. The acting Government, in this scenario, is finalizing the report with which to fully defend the proposal after this second position taking.

In general, the context has not changed compared to a few weeks ago, when the melon was opened. “It is not a question of whether the measure is appropriate or not, but rather what needs to be done correctly to carry it out.”. It is a question of seeing the complete picture,” sources consulted by 20minutos commented then, to clarify that among the Member States “there is no rejection” of the Government's approach, but they did want to escape any haste.. For some capitals, the problem comes from the effects that incorporating three more languages could have at once, while others consider that the necessary reform is too far-reaching to be addressed “in a short time.”

There are no dates on the table for the resolution of the issue, even though Sánchez has already started the clock for his possible investiture.. In fact, it is also unlikely that the issue will be finalized during the Spanish presidency of the Council; If that happens, the Belgian one – which takes place between January 1 and June 31, 2024 – will inherit the debate, although its semester will be marked by the European elections next June, so the margin will narrow.

There would be the alternative, already open, that the co-official languages could be languages of use in the European Parliament, a possibility that already started with a request in 2022 and that could be carried out as long as there is no unanimity in the Council. Right now the EU has 24 official languages, after the complete incorporation of Gaelic to the list in 2017.