EU language row: Spain faces Catalan pushback

Spain is meeting resistance in Brussels over its push to make Catalan, Basque and Galician official European Union languages. On Tuesday, 22 September, Madrid linked the demand to the European Union’s enlargement process, saying it could otherwise hold that process up. Lithuania, Germany and Sweden are among the countries objecting.

Lithuania’s Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Sigitas Miktus, said the approach was “not acceptable”. Germany’s State Secretary for Europe, Gunther Krichbaum, said it was not helpful to bring what he called a domestic demand into negotiations on enlargement.

Montenegro and Albania are among the furthest advanced candidate countries. Sweden’s European Affairs Minister Jessica Rosencrantz said the language proposal and enlargement were separate issues, while backing progress with Montenegro and other candidates.

No decision at Tuesday’s meeting

Spain has put the issue on the ministers’ agenda as an information point. That lets Fernando Sampedro, Spain’s Secretary of State for the European Union, set out Madrid’s case, but the format does not allow a substantive decision.

Croatia’s State Secretary for Europe, Andreja Metelko-Zgombic, said she expected no debate. She said partners still wanted legal advice and impact assessments to answer their outstanding concerns.

Sweden has called for detailed technical work by the 27 member states on what adding the three languages would involve.

Spain says its case is complete

Sampedro said Spain had spent three years explaining the proposal and answering questions over its legal, financial and practical viability. He said there was no reason to delay a decision further.

The change needs unanimity. At the last discussion by all 27 countries in July 2025, a group of partners opposed changing the European Union’s language rules, according to Sampedro.

Spain argues that it is not seeking to change the European Union treaties. Instead, it wants Catalan, Basque and Galician recognised as official languages under the Union’s language rules. Sampedro said the claim concerned the language rights of 20 million Europeans who already use those languages officially in daily life.

Topics: Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com