Albares assures that the Polish Presidency has committed to including the co-official Spanish languages in its agenda

Eduardo González The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, said on Wednesday that his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski, has committed to including the official status of Catalan, Basque and Galician in the European institutions in the "agenda" of the current Presidency of the Council, which Poland has held since January 1. Spain's intention is to submit this issue to the “decision of all EU Member States” during the Polish Presidency and Sikorski has committed to “helping in every way possible, putting this issue on his agenda,” Albares said during the joint press conference, held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw. “I want to thank you for your constructive spirit and your understanding of the identity of the Spanish nation, which is multilingual,” he continued. Last December, Albares sent a letter to Radoslaw Sikorski in which he asked the Polish Presidency of the EU Council to take up the Spanish proposal to make Catalan, Basque and Galician official in the European institutions. Both ministers personally addressed this issue on 16 December in Brussels, on the sidelines of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). During that meeting, as the minister himself explained to the press, Albares explained in more detail to Sikorski the content of the memorandum presented by Spain “on the conditions and how this official status would be achieved” and both agreed to “take a step further” in this proposal through their respective EU Secretaries of State. The modification of the language regime of the EU requires the unanimous support of the 27 Member States. Some countries have expressed their doubts, and even their open opposition, for practical reasons (its economic cost and the problems in finding sufficient personnel) and for its possible impact on other Member States with minority languages. In order to convince the most reluctant partners, Spain has relied on the “exceptionality” and “specificity of the Spanish case”, which cannot be extrapolated to other cases, and has committed to assuming the costs. The officialisation of Catalan, Basque and Galician within the European Union was one of the commitments between the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Catalan independentists of Junts to obtain their support in the investiture vote. For this reason, the Government took advantage of the last Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU (second half of 2023) to introduce the issue in four consecutive meetings of the General Affairs Council (19 September, 24 October, 15 November and 12 December 2023), in two of which even Albares appeared, something unusual in this type of meeting. Despite this insistence, the four meetings ended without any concrete decision, except for the commitment of the imminent Belgian Presidency to “advance the work on Spain’s request during its mandate”. However, the question of languages was conspicuous by its absence from the agenda of all the General Affairs Councils of the Belgian semester. The topic also did not appear even once on the Council agenda during the subsequent Hungarian Presidency. Other matters Albares and Sikorski discussed other bilateral and international issues in Warsaw, such as the work to renew the Poland-Spain Cooperation Treaty and support for Ukraine. In this regard, the Foreign Minister conveyed Spain's full support for the lines outlined by Poland, especially with regard to strengthening European security against Russian aggression, "which represents not only a threat to the stability of the continent, but also to the fundamental principles that support the European Union." At the meeting, both ministers highlighted the strong cultural and human connection between the two countries. More than 50,000 Polish citizens reside in Spain, while nearly 6,000 Spaniards live in Poland, strengthening the ties between the two nations. In addition, nearly 250,000 people study Spanish in Poland, with the support of the 14 bilingual sections that have teachers provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education. Likewise, Albares stressed the importance of continuing to strengthen business cooperation in infrastructure and transport through strategic projects, such as the “Solidarity Communications Hub”, one of the most ambitious initiatives of the European Union, aimed at integrating high-speed air, land and rail connections. Spain showed its interest in this project with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at the XIII Bilateral Summit in Alcalá de Henares in 2021 and a joint declaration at the XIV Warsaw Summit in 2022. The Spanish minister assured that Spain is open to the entry of foreign investments, but warned that the Government will study “with special care” the offer presented by the Polish fund PFR, owner of the train manufacturer Pesa, to invest in Talgo, as it is a strategic sector.

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