After an unprecedented diplomatic offensive by the government, the twenty -seven will today address the official of Catalan, Basque and Galician in the European Union. If there is no last minute unforeseen event, it is scheduled to produce an uncertain result vote. Although the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, He had made this issue almost a personal battle, he will not finally move to Brussels and will delegate his assistance in the Secretary of State, Fernando Sampedro.
The diplomatic sources of several capitals consulted are resisting to announce what their final position will be and prefer that the foreign ministers of their respective countries are that clarify their definitive position before the meeting begins. «They are not being usual negotiationswhere the technical aspects in the different working groups are clarified, but are being direct negotiations between governments with a highly political component, ”clarifies a high diplomatic position that does not want to venture to predict what will happen.
Two phases
For the recognition of these three languages to occur, the unanimity of the twenty -seven is needed. Spain raised For the first time this proposal in September of the year 2023 And, so far, the green light has been impossible to get. But in recent months Spain has put all the meat on the grill to convince the most reluctant. In fact, he has got any country to go to the meeting announcing its veto. In its last proposal, sent at the end of last week, the Sánchez government offers recognition in two phases.
From 2027, only the regulations of the Council and the Eurocamara would be translated into these languages and would be left for a later period, four years later, the translation of all legislative texts. This would relieve the great administrative and economic burden in the short term. Besides, Our country undertakes to assume the cost, without falling to European taxpayers.
These commitments half convince. Diplomatic sources remember the doubts of the legal service, since so far this status has never been granted to regional languages that are not official throughout the country, and would prefer to have more time to analyze all both legal and political aspects. One of the fears is that the Spanish petition opens the Pandora Box and more minority languages raised the same demanddespite the fact that the Government of Spain at all times has defended this proposal as a custom suit.
Intimidation
Intimidation
In addition, there is discomfort with the Spanish delegation by the “modus operandi.” This issue has not been discussed these months by the usual channels – the work groups where the technical problems are solved – and, according to the newspaper “Financial Times”, Baltic countries have felt intimidated, since Moncloa would have linked this issue to their military presence in these countries.
It should be remembered that The “war” of the Foreign Ministry for the use of Catalan in the EU is framed in the investiture agreement of Pedro Sánchez between Junts and the socialist government. In January, during the Ambassadors Conference, the head of diplomacy, José Manuel Albares, urged the 130 Spanish ambassadors gathered in Madrid to “redouble efforts” so that the co -official languages ”are recognized in the EU.” The minister marked him as an absolute “priority.”