Catalan spoken in Spanish Congress for first time

"I will speak in Catalan because I can, thanks to the Catalan school system, and because it is the language of my country." These were the first words in Catalan allowed in the Spanish Congress, said by the ERC spokesperson in the lower house, Gabriel Rufián, during the plenary session on Tuesday.

Tuesday marked a historic day in terms of linguistics in the country, when the co-official languages of Spain were allowed to be used in the chamber for the first time, with a live translation system being used.

Rufián was the third person to speak on Tuesday, with a speech entirely in Catalan, as MPs debated the regulation for using Catalan, Basque, and Galician.

Rufián celebrated the "historic" agreement and criticized the "cynicism" of those who have turned speaking in the co-official languages in Congress "into a revolutionary act".

The ERC politician also recalled his Andalusian origins and said that was an "honor" to be able to speak in Catalan from the podium.

Galician, first co-official language spoken

However, the first co-official language to be heard in the chamber was not Catalan but Galician.

The Socialist MP José Ramón Besteiro inaugurated the simultaneous translation system with a speech that combined Galician with Spanish.

Between Besteiro and Rufián, Sumar's Marta Lois spoke, also in a speech combining Galician and Spanish.

Basque was heard after Rufián's speech, spoken by EH Bildu spokesperson Mertxe Aizpurua, who was followed by PNB deputy Joseba Andoni Agirretxea.

Simultaneous translation

The initiative to accept co-official languages in the chamber came as a result of the agreement to name the Congress Bureau, with the Socialists' Francina Armengol as speaker.

A simultaneous translation system, with a team of six certified interpreters, has been deployed on Tuesday to allow for fluid communication in the chamber. There are also two giant screens that were already in the chamber that will offer subtitles.

The total expenditure on headphones will amount to €7,600 euros.

Added to this figure is the cost of the rental and maintenance of the devices that receive the simultaneous translation signal, which sources say cost €45,900 until the end of the year. Congress plans to purchase its own devices in the future.

The six translators are part of a group of 12, all of whom are self-employed and will earn €80-€100 per hour.

The translators work remotely, therefore they are not physically in the Spanish Congress, and the maximum calculated system delay will be four seconds.

The chamber will hire them depending on the needs of the plenary, but they cannot exceed the payments of a minor contract.

Spanish government hails coexistance

Spokesperson for the Spanish government, Isabel Rodríguez, defended that her administration has always defended the use of official languages in Spain, because the Constitution says so."

"It is good news for Spain", Rodríguez said, because "the Constitution is being complied with in all territories" and "coexistence has been restored."

According to the Socialist politician, despite the fact that there are "differing positions" with the pro-independence parties, "in these five years coexistence, dialogue, and respect for the Constitution have prevailed."

Catalan government asks responsibility on EU

The Catalan government has blamed the Spanish government for the delay on the voting about co-official languages of Spain in the European Union.

During the press conference after the weekly government reunions, Patrícia Plaja, the government spokesperson, has criticized that the Spanish government has done their work in Europe "late and wrong".

Plaja has emphasized that "40 years of revindication should have been enough". However, she has celebrated that Catalan will be spoken in the Spanish Congress, and has taken the opportunity to ask Spain to include the language in "all of its aspects".

Junts assert their mistrust

Míriam Nogueras, spokesperson for Junts in the Spanish Congress, claimed that her party's "mistrust of Spanish parties" is what "has led to unblocking in a few weeks what seemed impossible."

The deputy highlighted that there will now be a "new generation" of politicians who have "an agenda that they did not expect" and that she is not prepared to "resurrect the lifelong formula" that has brought "governments and stability" to Spanish parties.

PP and Vox try to obstruct the start

The conservative People's Party (PP) and far-right Vox tried to obstruct the start of the debate to show their opposition to the use of Catalan, Basque, and Galician.

As soon as the session began, the PP spokesperson Cuca Gamarra asked to speak to denounce a breach of Congress regulations.

Shortly after, when the first speech in Galician began, Vox deputies left the chamber, leaving their earphones on the seat of acting PM Pedro Sánchez.