The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is in a pickle. In August, he sent out a formal request to the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe for Catalan, Basque and Galician to become official EU languages. The request was part of a coalition agreement with the Catalan Independence Party, whose support he depends on to remain in power. The subject is also due to be discussed at the General Affairs Council on 19 September.
As could be expected, Brussels coolly greeted the prime minister’s newfound appetite for polyglotism. EU diplomats fear that agreeing to the request could trigger a domino effect across the bloc, with other regional language communities demanding similar recognition. As it stands, the Council is taking a cautious approach, out of phase with the timeline of Sánchez’s domestic pressures.
