Albares sends an argument to the ambassadors in EU countries to obtain their support for the official status of Catalan

In it he sets out the reasons why the recognition of co-official languages ​​by the Twenty-seven would not set a precedent

MADRID, 1 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has sent a document to the Spanish ambassadors in all EU countries with the arguments they have to put forward in these capitals to obtain their support in order to recognize the official status of Catalan, Basque and Galician.

The text, as indicated by these embassies to Europa Press, lists all the reasons why the inclusion of the three co-official languages ​​in the EU linguistic regime, as requested by the Government last August, would not set any precedent and emphasizes the Spain's willingness to assume the cost that this may entail.

Albares acknowledges to the ambassadors that among the community partners there are "doubts" about the possibility that giving the green light to Catalan, Basque and Galician could "generate a precedent for other regional languages" spoken in the member states.

To solve them, remember that the initial August proposal has been improved, with the inclusion of an annex in which the "specificity of the Spanish case" is explained in detail to justify the endorsement of the Twenty-Seven and a series of conditions are established that "no language other than Catalan, Basque and Galician complies today."

Specifically, it is proposed that the language originate from a Member State, which would exclude, for example, the Russian spoken in some countries, and that it has constitutional recognition in that State.

Likewise, in order to achieve official status in the EU, the language in question has to be used in the national Parliament, something that Catalan, Basque and Galician already fulfill in the Congress and the Senate.

The requirement of having been used for more than 10 years in the European institutions based on administrative agreements between them and the Member State must also be met, something that already occurs with the three co-official languages, and that the EU treaties have been translated into that language and a certified copy has been deposited in the archives of the Council.

Finally, the Government proposes that the Member State that requests the inclusion of a language in the EU linguistic regulations must undertake to assume all the costs derived from the use of it, as Spain has already done.

In relation to this issue, the minister explains to the ambassadors that the Government is waiting to receive the report requested from the European Commission on the cost estimate.

However, he makes it clear that since Spain is willing to assume it, "the report would be for the purposes of subsequent implementation." The Government has not wanted to give a specific estimate at any time, beyond ensuring that it would be an "affordable" figure for the State coffers.

Given that the Spanish proposal has been included as an item of the day in the General Affairs Council (CAG) on December 12, as sources from the Spanish presidency of the EU Council have confirmed to Europa Press, Albares wants the ambassadors in the member states let him know the "result of their efforts" to achieve support before December 6.

This will be the last occasion in which the Government will be able to bring the official status of Catalan, Basque and Galician to the Council, since on December 31 it will abandon the rotating presidency, which will now be held by Belgium.

For Catalan, Basque and Galician to be added to the 24 official languages ​​in the EU, the unanimity of the Twenty-seven is necessary. The Government has insisted at all times that no partner has flatly opposed the Spanish request, but there have been several who have raised doubts about the consequences that a step of this type could have.

Since Albares formally transferred the Spanish request to the EU Council on August 17, whose presidency paradoxically holds Spain, the matter has already been discussed three times in the CAG. The first two, on September 19 and October 24, it was Albares himself who went to Brussels to defend the Government's arguments.

In this last meeting it was agreed to ask the European Commission for evaluations on the financial, legal and practical impact that the recognition of the three languages ​​would have for the entire European Union, a task that Brussels has offered to coordinate with the rest of the institutions. and that Spain estimates that they will not be ready before "two or three months."

The matter was raised again, although very briefly, on November 15, simply to record that it has not been closed but without debate.