Spain is pushing for Catalan, Basque, and Galician to be recognized as official languages of the European Union.
Last week, the President of the Catalan government, Salvador Illa, visited Brussels with this proposal, stating that it is a key demand of 10 million Catalan speakers.
The EU currently has 24 official languages, and adding new ones requires unanimous approval from all 27 member states. Although Spain introduced the proposal in 2023, little progress has been made. The cost of including three new languages is estimated at 132 million euros per year, and Spain has offered to cover the expenses.
The initiative is being pushed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government. Some EU countries see it as a political maneuver, but Salvador Illa insists it is a matter of “linguistic justice.”
