Catalan in Europe and anti-Europeanism

One effect that the blockage, or the refusal by omission, of recognizing Catalan as an official language in Europe can easily have is the reinforcement of anti-Europeanism in Catalonia, or in the Catalan Countries. This is an undesirable effect that, if it occurs, will have been fostered by the European elites themselves and their hesitant, reticent, hostile, and technocratic attitude toward the linguistic diversity of the European Union. The paralysis of the recognition of Catalan, Galician, and Basque as languages of Europe is another example of the EU's lack of capacity to provide an interesting, positive, and active response, not only to geopolitical problems, but also to its internal reality.

Naturally, it is not only the European bodies that have failed: as you can read in the chronicle of Gerard FagedaThe Spanish government has been relegating this issue from its priorities, and the pressure from Junts (Junt's Party) on Pedro Sánchez's executive for Catalan in Europe has also eased. Whether out of conviction or convenience, in the height of his protection, Minister Albares even put forward an argument in favor of recognition that was previously unheard of in Spanish nationalism: namely, that official languages other than Spanish are the native languages of more than 20% of the state's population, and are therefore a fundamental part of the national identity. Considering the enormous, intense, and sustained efforts that Spain has historically dedicated to combating these languages or outright persecuting them, the exorbitant amounts of time, money, and effort it has invested and continues to invest in abolishing them, it was certainly a novel argument. And a pleasant one to hear, why not say it?

An argument that, if it ever prospers (it's not likely to), could be doubly interesting: on the one hand, it would represent a turning point in the history of Spanish nationalism, which is a history of constant struggle against linguistic diversity. And on the other, it could be a good argument for Catalanism and the independence movement, or at least for a progressive Catalanism and independence movement. But it doesn't seem like things have to go that way either.

What's expected is that the PP and Vox will celebrate the decision to stop Catalan recognition in Europe as a 15-0 victory, that the Spanish governing parties, PSOE and Sumar, will try to flatter themselves, and that Junts, despite having eased the pressure, will use this setback as another argument in the tiresome bickering between parties. The Spanish nationalists and the far-right independence movement, Vox and the Catalan Alliance, who coincide in their anti-Europeanism (parasites of the European institutions, would be more accurate), will once again benefit. Meanwhile, Europe, frightened and lost, also misses an important opportunity on the language issue, which is—should be—fundamental to the pro-European project. Europeanism and the European Union are also fundamental to the future of Catalan. That's why it's even worse that the response is so mediocre.