Last month this newspaper published an interview at Nicolas LevratThe UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, who recently completed a study visit to the European Union, was asked if Catalan is in danger. Levrat responded unequivocally: "No, my opinion is no; in the European Union there are many other languages ​​that are in much greater danger than Catalan." No, Catalan is not in danger. However, for some time now, the perception of Catalan society regarding the future of Catalan has entered a pessimistic spiral. The latest CEO Longitudinal Survey, released on March 5, reveals the speed with which this perception has worsened. Currently, 52% of those interviewed believe that Catalan will be used less in the immediate future than it is today, compared to 48% in 2024 and 42% in 2023. That the perception has worsened is undeniable; the question that should be asked is whether reality has also worsened to such an extent.

In the last general policy debate in Parliament, President Salvador Illa said that the National Pact for Language is one of the most significant milestones his government has achieved. Illa did not say whether the creation of the Department of Language Policy is also a milestone; whether or not I consider it a milestone, it may be appropriate to attempt an assessment a year after the department's creation.

As expected, the European Union's General Affairs Council this Friday failed to approve the official status of Catalan, Galician, and Basque in the European institutions. Everything indicates that the request made by the Spanish government nearly two years ago has entered a hibernation phase. Realistically speaking, in the short term, the only circumstances that could improve the status of Catalan in the institutions are an agreement by the European Parliament's bureau to allow its use in the European Parliament and, above all, the signing of the Association Agreement between Andorra and the EU, which, among other things, would require the translation of a significant number of European laws into Catalan.

Finally, we have a National Language Pact. We must congratulate the president of the Generalitat and his Minister of Language Policy for achieving their goal, and we must downplay the tantrum of Junts, which failed to distinguish the strategic value of the Plan from its tactical interests. In reality, it's nothing new that a party that defends the protection of Catalan would decide not to support an initiative to protect Catalan; it's enough to remember that in 1997, Esquerra voted against the language policy law.

On November 1, 2024, the canopy of the recently renovated Novi Sad train station collapsed, killing 15 people. The renovation work had been opaquely awarded to a consortium of Chinese companies. The tragic accident sparked a protest movement, first in Novi Sad and then throughout Serbia, denouncing widespread corruption, media censorship, the concentration of power, the influence of Russia and Chinese capital, and the repression of dissent. It's no joke: in December, a demonstration as large as those that precipitated Milosevic's downfall took place in Belgrade, and on Saturday, it was the largest in the country's history.

On November 1, 2024, the canopy of the recently renovated Novi Sad train station collapsed, killing 15 people. The renovation work had been opaquely awarded to a consortium of Chinese companies. The tragic accident sparked a protest movement, first in Novi Sad and then throughout Serbia, denouncing widespread corruption, media censorship, the concentration of power, the influence of Russia and Chinese capital, and the repression of dissent. It's no joke: in December, a demonstration as large as those that precipitated Milosevic's downfall took place in Belgrade, and on Saturday, it was the largest in the country's history.