Fernando Sampedro: “There is no economic or legal argument to delay, even one minute longer, the decision on the EU’s co-official languages”

Eduardo González The State Secretary for the EU, Fernando Sampedro, expressed his confidence this Friday that the Spanish proposal for the inclusion of Catalan, Basque, and Galician in the European language regime will ultimately be accepted "unanimously." He asserted that the other Member States are fully aware that this measure would have "no impact" and, therefore, "there is no argument, whether economic, legal, or in terms of precedent, that could justify delaying this initiative one minute longer." “Two years ago, Minister (of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel) Albares presented his colleagues with a proposal for the recognition of Catalan, Basque, and Galician in the European Union, and over these two years we have worked with all Member States,” Sampedro declared in Brussels upon his arrival at the EU General Affairs Council meeting, the last of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, which includes, as its second item on the agenda, the debate on the Spanish proposal. “This is a priority for Spain, a priority that Spain will not abandon and that is closely linked to Spain's multilingual national identity, which, according to the treaties, must simply and plainly be respected,” he continued. “Furthermore, we believe that this proposal has no negative impact on any other Member State; therefore, we believe it should be possible to approve it as soon as possible, and that is why we have kept this dossier on the agenda for the last two years,” he added. "We thank all the presidencies that have helped us achieve this, including the Danish presidency, by formally placing this item on the agenda for debate with the possibility of requesting a vote," he added. According to Sampedro, "after the last discussion on May 27, we circulated a memorandum a month ago with additional information on all the aspects that arose and have been addressed," and the focus now is on "achieving the objectives of this proposal, which are none other than bringing the institutions and the European Union closer to the 20 million Europeans who have two official languages and who reside in Spain, and preventing these 20 million Europeans from being discriminated against compared to other Europeans residing in other Member States who also have more than one official language," the State Secretary explained. In any case, he warned, "we would like it to be clear today—in fact, we are convinced it will be clear—that all doubts have been addressed, and if so, there would be no need for a vote, nor would it be necessary for it to be held in a General Affairs Council meeting," because "as soon as unanimity is established, it can be treated as a point without discussion at any Council meeting." Regarding the legal and financial doubts expressed this Friday in Brussels by four or five EU ministers, Sampedro asserted that the Spanish government is "convinced" that this decision would have "no impact." "Perhaps there are other reasons that explain their positions, but it is certainly not a lack of information or a lack of explanations, and there is no argument, whether economic, legal, or in terms of precedent, that can justify delaying this initiative for one more minute," he stated.

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