EU ministers have snubbed Spain’s request to add Catalan, Basque and Galician to the bloc’s list of official languages, in a setback for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s efforts to form a new government.
The premier had asked to add the three languages as he courts the support of separatists following inconclusive elections in July. But EU affairs ministers on Tuesday raised concerns about adding so many at once, said Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares. Madrid would not abandon the project, he said, but instead focus on making Catalan an official EU language first.
“We have proposed to start the rollout first with Catalan and then with the other two languages”, said Albares, adding that there was greater “insistence” from the Catalan-speaking community, which is larger than the other two.