Catalan EU bid returns: German doubts hold firm

Catalan is heading back to the European Union agenda in Brussels on 22 September, but Spain will not get a decision that day. The Spanish government has asked the Council of the European Union to again consider making Catalan, Basque and Galician official EU languages. The move comes after the last ministerial discussion, in July 2025, ran into resistance led by Germany.

Ireland, which holds the rotating Council presidency this half-year, has put the issue into a draft agenda under “official languages and enlargement”. Spain has requested it as an “Any Other Business” item — a slot giving it only a few minutes to set out its case. Other delegations may respond, but no concrete decision can be made in that part of the meeting.

Spain says the question should be seen alongside a future EU enlargement that could bring in countries including Albania and Montenegro. Madrid argues that it would be hard to change the language rules for new member states while leaving out languages that are already co-official in Spain.

Unanimity still stands in the way

Every EU member state must agree before the three languages can gain official status. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares says 20 member states do not oppose the plan, although European sources say a number of delegations still have doubts.

Germany remains among them. It has pointed to the Council’s legal service, which indicated that changing the EU treaties could be needed to provide a legal basis for official status. Talks launched by Madrid and Berlin late in 2025 have not shifted Germany’s position, according to the German Foreign Ministry.

Spain offers to meet the bill

Madrid has promised to cover the extra cost, which the European Commission puts at around 132 million euros a year, based on the experience of Irish. Spain also proposed a limited rollout from 2027, translating only Council and European Parliament regulations. It says those made up 3% of all legal acts in the previous parliamentary term.

Topics: Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com