The 27 put aside the official status of Catalan after Spain lost control of the European presidency agenda

BRUSSELS, 13 Ene. (EUROPE PRESS) -

The Spanish Government's request to recognize Catalan, Basque and Galician as official languages ​​of the European Union has been put on the agenda of the ministers of the Twenty-seven once Spain has lost control of the work agenda that each semester assumes the rotating presidency and which, since January 1, passed into the hands of Belgium.

During the Spanish semester, the official nature of the co-official languages ​​- one of the commitments of the PSOE with Junts for the new legislature - was addressed in the meetings of European ministers of General Affairs on up to four occasions, despite reservations for different reasons of a large number of countries to modify a regulation, that of the official languages, for which any change requires the unanimity of the 27.

Already in December, several delegations regretted that the matter remained on the agenda despite the lack of progress and not having the precise information on the legal, practical and financial impact necessary, in their opinion, to address a reflection of background.

Official sources from different Member States consulted by Europa Press stressed that "they do not have the necessary data to make a decision" and trusted that the December meeting would be the "last in a season" in which this matter, described by a senior diplomat as an initiative "pampered" by the Spanish Government.

In this context, Belgium, which on January 1 took over from Spain as rotating presidency of the EU Council, made clear in December its willingness to take the "appropriate steps" during its semester and pay "special attention to the different required analyses" that, to this day, remain pending and without a clear calendar for their development.

In the eyes of the Belgian team, a meeting of ministers should not be seen as "a working group" so they do not foresee the Spanish request returning to the high-level debate until significant steps are taken at a technical level first.

This dynamic was confirmed this Friday when the formal agenda of the next Council of Ministers of General Affairs of the EU was published, which will be held on the 29th of this month and which does not include in its agenda any reference to the Spanish request to recognize Catalan. Basque and Galician as official languages ​​of the European Union.

However, sources from the rotating presidency affirm that they are not "setting aside anything" but rather that they consider that the matter "needs to advance first at the appropriate level," that is, in technical meetings, and once the reports requested by the community partners are on the table. table can be "put back" on the agenda.

Furthermore, they warn that it should be Spain that "pushes" the file, given that the initiative belongs to this country and that its partners are still waiting for detailed information on the implications and scope of the changes it proposes. The Council is "waiting" to receive alternative proposals "compatible" with the Treaties and supported by administrative, legal and financial impact assessments.

Spain defends that the specificities of the co-official languages, including their fit in the Constitution and their use in the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, make the Spanish file a "unique case" that could not be extrapolated to other European regions; thus refuting the doubts of several partners who fear a "domino effect" in their territories.

The Government has also assured that it will assume the bill of introducing the use of Catalan, Basque and Galician in the European institutions, thus renouncing the provisions of the EU's own language regulations that provide for this expense to be borne by the community coffers. . In addition, he proposed a gradual deployment to introduce Catalan first and leave the development of Basque and Galician for later, without clarifying the calendar.

In a preliminary assessment, the European Commission estimated the introduction of a new language into the functioning of the European Union at around 44 million euros per year, which would translate into 132 million euros in this case, but will not offer a definitive analysis while the Council do not take a formal position on the Spanish request.

In fact, the Community Executive has made it clear that its calculation is based solely on Ireland's experience with Gaelic, the last addition to the catalog of official EU languages ​​in 2015, without taking into account other variables such as the number of translators and interpreters. available, if there are sufficient databases on terminology or the details of the transition regime proposed by Spain.