MEPs on fact-finding visit to Catalonia say school heads 'cannot speak out freely'

The head of the delegation of the European Parliament's fact-finding visit to Catalonia to assess the Catalan language immersion model has said that school principals they met with could not "speak out freely" due to the presence of officials from the education department. 

At the conclusion of the three-day visit on Wednesday, Estonian liberal Yana Toom said it was her impression after visiting two schools that it was "absolutely clear that it was far from a free exchange of views." 

Toom also said it was a "problem" that parents who want their children to have 25% of classes taught in Spanish have to individually go through the courts. 

"Citizens have to do it by themselves. They're facing a system which does not support them," she said at a press conference in Barcelona, adding "We see it as a problem, but this is not a conclusion. This is, at the moment, my personal view and we'll discuss it in the [European] Parliament." 

The visit has been slammed by Catalan officials, with, for example, Meritxell Serret, the Catalan Minister of Foreign Action, saying it was an "artificial and biased controversy from the Spanish right." 

Diana Riba, an MEP for pro-independence Esquerra Republicana said the visiting mission was "a right-wing and far-right cabal." 

Her party will ask the European Parliament for a report on "all costs" that the MEPs' mission to Catalonia has entailed, Riba said on Wednesday. 

She claimed the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions who organized the visit had a "totally biased position" and said the parliament had "no powers" on the matter. 

Court cases and language immersion 

There have been several court cases over language policy in Catalan public schools. In October 2023, Catalonia's High Court (TSJC) recognized the right of a student at the Turó del Drac school in Canet de Mar (40km north of Barcelona) to be taught another core subject in Spanish, in addition to Spanish language lessons. 

Catalonia's language immersion system – where Catalan is the sole language of teaching in classrooms (apart from language classes) – is designed to ensure that all students become fluent in Catalan as well as Spanish.