In exchange for key support needed to create a new minority government in 2023. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez concluded a complex agreement with Catalan separatist parliamentarians. He undertook to recognize Catalan, Basque and Galician as EU official languages.
This move requires a unanimous support of 27 EU Member States, which is why Spanish officials have spent the last two years lobbying in European capitals to obtain support for this initiative. Next week, Spain intends to submit this issue to the vote in the General Affairs Council. Documents summarizing the meeting of EU ambassadors, which the editors of Politico reached, but show that There are serious doubts about Madrid's proposals.
Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovakia supported the recognition of additional official languages of Spain by the EU. Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany and Sweden, however, were in favor of the Italian appeal postulating “further explanation of the costs and legal effects of this move.”
Divisions in the EU
Madrid has committed to cover the costs associated with adding these languages to EU documents, which may amount to millions of euros. However, Sanchez's declaration did not convince all his colleagues from the EU Council. Two EU diplomats, however, confirmed that There is a certain division in this matter.
EU countries opposing this decision are afraid of how new official languages can have an impact on EU finances. The EU currently spends over EUR 1 billion (PLN 4.3 billion) annually to translate all provisions, applications and EU decisions into 24 official languages.
It is not clear how many financial resources are needed to include additional languages of Spain in this group. EU countries are skeptical that Madrid will incur these costs indefinitely. The minority government of Sanchez has not yet adopted the budget for the current term. The country is under pressure to allocate more public funds to meet NATO requirements regarding the increase in defense expenditure.
The third EU diplomat anonymously told Politico that Spain argued that the addition of additional official languages of the EU would allow her to unlock national funds necessary to increase the defense capabilities of Spain.
The government needs the support of the Junts Catalan separatist party to pass the law, but its members are increasingly annoyed by a lack of progress in terms of language. It was a key part of the agreement signed with the Spanish Socialist Party in 2023. A failure to comply with this commitment may threaten further cooperation between groups.
The Spanish government did not answer Politico's request for a comment, and the spokesman for the Junts party refused to discuss this topic.
