The Government is asking the European Parliament for a “new push” for the use of Catalan, Basque and Galician in the institution. On the occasion of the start of the new legislature, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has sent a letter to the president, Roberta Metsola, in which he asks her to address this issue “personally” and to inform the Bureau of the European Parliament of the speeding up of the administrative agreement signed years ago to allow the use of these co-official languages in the institution.
“This is a priority issue for my country and an essential element of Spanish identity,” says the minister in the letter sent to the Maltese, in which he recalls that more than 20 million people live in territories where Catalan, Basque and Galician are recognised as official languages. “The use of the languages of a significant part of Spanish and European citizens in the European Parliament is of great importance,” says Albares.
Among the arguments used by the head of diplomacy to demand a push for the request that the Government reiterated last summer as part of the negotiations with Junts and ERC for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, are those that he has defended within the EU: that they are languages with constitutional recognition and that they are also used in Congress and the Senate, or that there are already administrative agreements so that these languages can be used in the EU institutions, even if they do not have official status.
“I would be grateful if you could personally discuss the possibility of submitting the decision to the European Parliament’s Bureau,” concludes Albares’ letter. The intention of the socialists is for Vice-President Javi López (PSC) to facilitate the process.
The inclusion of Catalan, Basque and Galician as official languages of the EU is one of the Government’s promises to the pro-independence forces. However, the path is different in the European Parliament, where it would require the political approval of the parliamentary groups, and in the rest of the institutions. The measure requires the unanimity of the member states and is far from being achieved due to the reluctance of some countries to open the door to other minority languages making this claim.
For the moment, the matter is on hold in the EU Council until Spain makes a proposal that is “compatible with the treaties” and includes impact analyses from an administrative (human resources), legal and financial perspective.
Source: www.eldiario.es
