The Government has placed Asia at the top of its international priorities list. So much so that the president, Salvador Illa, made his first two intercontinental trips there, first to Japan and Korea, and then to China. This week, the Minister of European Union and External Action, Jaume Duch, has returned to the Asian giant for the second time to continue working hard and strengthen the ties between Catalonia and the country, while awaiting the finalization of procedures to open the new delegation of the Generalitat in Beijing. This Friday, the minister signed, on behalf of the Government, two memorandums of understanding with the leading provinces of Jiangsu and Hainan, where he also participated in the Boao Forum, the Asian Davos.

In 2025, Catalan will no longer be an official language in the European Union. while the Spanish government mobilizes its diplomacy to try to find the support it currently lacks. While awaiting official recognition, which requires unanimity from all member states, both the central government and the regional government have tried to promote Catalan within European institutions. This is partly to appease Junts, which identifies this issue as a priority to consider returning to the negotiating table with the PSOE, which has now dissolved. Official recognition would mean that any citizen could address European institutions in Catalan, that it would be included in cultural promotion programs, and that legislation would also be published in that language. But, until this happens, current regulations already facilitate its use in both the Committee of the Regions and the Council of the EU, when there is the political will to do so.

Donald Trump's return to the White House has turned the international stage. While the new Republican president redefines geopolitical and commercial alliances, Catalonia has a vacant position as the head of the Generalitat's delegation in the United States and Canada, which will take place on January 1, 2025. The delegate since 2019, Isidre Sala, left by unilateral decision of Salvador I's government. Sala's contract expired in September 2025, but the Catalan government terminated it early, arguing that it wanted to change the delegation's "priorities" and renew it after six years with the same person at the helm. His departure, announced in November along with that of Southeast Europe, has plunged the Generalitat into a power vacuum in the United States that has been ongoing for months. in the midst of a trade war and during a time of shift in immigration policy, which could affect Catalans who live, work, and study in the country. Before learning that he would be dismissed, the delegate had warned that, given the possible changes in the White House, his replacement had to be prepared in advance.

The objective of making Catalan an official language in the European institutions is crucial and it is necessary to persist until it is achieved. Having started the race and having the State government in favour is already a success in itself. It is important to be clear about this. Catalan has become a community portfolio with strong arguments, both quantitative (number of speakers) and qualitative (cultural relevance). It will not be easy to achieve it, as was already said when Junts and the PSOE closed the first pact, but it will not be easy to let it go either. The path has begun and is irreversible.

The Minister for the European Union and External Action, Jaume Duch (Barcelona, ​​​​1962), visits the ARA a few days before travelling to Brussels with the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and six months after the inauguration of the socialist executive.