Spain again urges European Parliament to allow use of Catalan

Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has sent a new letter to the President of the European Parliament (EP), Roberta Metsola, to request that Catalan, Galician and Basque can be used in the chamber's plenary, the Catalan News Agency (ACN) has learned. 

In the letter, Albares says the issue is a "matter of priority for the country" and asked the chamber president to "address the request personally." 

This is the third time since 2022 that Albares has made such a request, with previous calls going unanswered.  

In the letter, to which the ACN has had access, the Spanish minister defends that the start of the new European legislature represents an "opportunity to give new impetus to the signing of an administrative agreement for the use of Catalan, Galician and Basque in the European Parliament." 

 "It is a matter of priority for my country and an essential element of national identity," Albares writes in the letter, dated September 18, 2024. 

"Given the importance of continuing to bring the institutions closer to citizens and to encourage citizens' participation, the use in Parliament of the languages of a significant part of Spanish and European citizens is of great importance." 

In the letter, the minister also points out that there are "more than twenty million people who live in Spanish territories where Catalan, Basque and Galician are recognized as official languages." 

He also asserts that the three co-official languages have "unique characteristics," among which he cites being recognized in the Spanish Constitution or the fact that they are working languages in Spain's Congress and Senate. 

"Given all of the above, I would appreciate if you could personally address the possibility of submitting to the European Parliament Bureau the decision to conclude the aforementioned administrative agreement between Spain and the European Parliament that would allow the use of Catalan, Basque and Galician," Albares concludes. 

In any case, the use of Catalan in plenary sessions would not mean that the language is official in the European Union. That must be decided within the framework of the European Council, where the unanimous support of the 27 member states is required.