The European Union shelves Catalan: "There are much more important issues."

BrusselsTime was running out. The official status of Catalan was discussed at the meetings of the General Affairs Council of the European Union, and the Spanish Foreign Minister himself, José Manuel Albares, came to personally defend the measure in Brussels. It turned out to be a matter of the first order. Journalists from the media, ministers and diplomats from the rest of the European bloc looked on in amazement at the dust raised by the measure and pretended to believe that – theoretically, according to Junts' threats– Pedro Sánchez's government would depend on the success or failure of the maximum recognition of Catalonia's own languages, Galician and Basque in the European institutions.

But the Spanish government would soon vto start making excuses when it was very difficult to obtain unanimous approval from all member states, and former President Carles Puigdemont accepted the Moncloa's arguments on more than one occasion. Juntos also toned down the threats, to the point that Sánchez remains at the head of the Spanish executive and the initiative to make the Catalan one official is completely stalled.

When Spain ceased to hold the presidency of the EU Council, which gave it greater influence in determining which issues were discussed at ministerial meetings, the soufflé in Brussels already began to deflate. Only occasionally, especially at key moments when the PSOE needed Junts' support in Congress, did the Moncloa act in an effort to force its discussion at the EU Council's ministerial meetings and launch new proposals that were supposedly a step closer to the proposal's approval.

However, the last time Spain forced a discussion about the official status of Catalan in the EU Council before the summer, it backfired. According to diplomatic sources explained to ARA, Germany, which is the EU's most influential and powerful force, He led the opposition with a very harsh tone and most of the partners joined. Only four countries—Belgium, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia—were publicly in favor. Even one country, Luxembourg, which initially seemed rather in favor, complained about having to repeatedly debate an issue on which there was nothing new.

For this reason, diplomatic sources assure ARA that the aim is to "give the initiative a breathing space" and prevent the measure from spreading to other Member States, especially Germany. Since then, Spain has not requested to discuss it at the EU General Affairs Council on September 16, nor will it be discussed next Tuesday, although the two meetings coincided with the start of the political year and at a key moment for relations between the regional government and the Socialists.

"I haven't heard anything for a while."

When Spain initially presented the proposal, the diplomatic delegations of the EU member states closely monitored the status of the negotiations for the official status of Catalan. However, over time it has increasingly faded into the background, and when asked about the ARA, several European partners have stated that they do not even know the status of the dossier. "I haven't heard anything for a long time," says one diplomatic source. "There are much more important issues," adds another. This Tuesday's Council is expected to discuss the next European budget, a legislative proposal to reduce bureaucracy, and Hungary's compliance with EU law, among other issues.

In this regard, sources familiar with Spain's negotiations with the other member states to lobby for the official status of Catalan admit that their efforts are currently focused mainly on one country: Germany. And both Juntos and the Moncloa in They blame the PP and attribute great influence to it within the Christian Democratic family of the European Union, and especially within conservative executives like the one led by Friedrich Merz, who governs in coalition with the Social Democrats. "The government is constantly working to achieve unanimity. At the moment, the work is bilateral. That's why this time the matter will not be discussed again in the General Affairs Council," say sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, although it seems that Spain is now playing its cards in one direction, German diplomatic sources assure ARA that there has been no progress in the negotiations on the official status of Catalan, and the German chancellor's latest statements on the initiative are not very encouraging. "It's complicated; each language increases the need for translations. [...] I think that in the medium term there could be a good solution because, thanks to artificial intelligence, we won't need interpreters anymore," said the German leader in Madrid this September in a joint appearance with Sánchez.

In this context, the diplomatic delegations to the EU of several member states believe it would be pushing things too far to resume discussions in the short or medium term about an initiative on which no progress has been made, such as at the upcoming General Affairs Council meetings on November 17 and December 16. "We're fed up," responds another diplomat. However, the same diplomatic sources do not entirely rule out the possibility that Denmark, which currently holds the presidency of the EU Council and is governed by the Social Democrats, could bring it back to the table if the Spanish government requests it.

On Saturday, the president of the Catalan government, Salvador Illa, once again called for official status before the European Socialists. "It would be wonderful news," he said at the congress of the Party of European Socialists in Amsterdam. However, when asked by this newspaper, the Danes also offer no guarantee that they would bring it back to the EU Council's agenda even if there is progress on the initiative, and they only see it as a "fairly hypothetical" situation that they would consider when the time comes.