Catalan language use to be debated during new term, says EU Parliament president

The sitting EU parliament president, Roberta Metsola, said during a meeting with the Greens/EFA party on Tuesday that the use of the Catalan language in the European Parliament could be debated during the new term.

Metsola, who is running for a second term, has been meeting with different parties, and on Tuesday, she said that the topic would be discussed with the vice presidents of the parliament if any EU member state requests it, as Catalan pro-independence Esquerra Republicana MEP Diana Riba published on X, formerly Twitter, after attending the meeting.

Metsola's answer was, in fact, to a question made by Riba during the meeting that also served to allow the sitting EU parliament president to explain her policies ahead of a potential second term after June 9 European Election.

During the last term, and coinciding with Spain's rotating presidency of the EU, the Spanish government led by Socialist Pedro Sánchez, already asked Metsola to debate the use of the Catalan language, as well as the Basque and Galician, in a parliament board meeting.

At the time, members said that it was not possible to take a decision on the matter but that they would continue to look into the subject based on the decision taken by the 27 member states during any EU Council summit.

Since then, no decision has been taken, as the council still has not reached an agreement despite the different attempts of the Spanish executive.

To officialize the use of the Catalan language in the EU Parliament, seven vice presidents are required to back the proposal, which the S&D party (the Socialists) did not have. The new parliament board will be known on July 16 and 17, and at that moment, it will be possible to know if a majority will back studying the proposal.

Catalan MEP chosen as vicepresident candidate

Catalan MEP Javi López has been chosen by the Socialist party as its vice president candidate in the EU parliament, as he announced on X.

López said it is an "honor" to be elected as the candidate of the party.

"I want to thank my colleagues for your trust. We will continue to work to strengthen this parliament, tackle the EU's largest challenges, and provide a solution to citizens' issues," he wrote.