On 10 September 2023, Le Monde reported that although the Spanish Prime Minister formally requested that Catalan, Basque and Galician be recognised as official languages of the European Union (which would raise the number of official EU languages beyond 24), the proposal faces major resistance from other Member States. Many fear this would open the door to a flurry of similar demands from other minority-language communities across Europe, as some states estimate that roughly 8 % of the EU population belongs to such minority-language groups. According to the piece, unanimity of the 27 is required to approve the change — yet that appears highly improbable given the political, financial and practical implications.
This article offers a revealing glance at how language, identity and power interplay within the EU’s framework. On one hand, the request by Spain underscores how belonging to a language community is not just about culture but about access, representation and institutional recognition. On the other, the resistance highlights how these requests trigger broader concerns: budgetary cost of translation & interpretation, precedent for other regions (e.g., Basque in France, Russian-speaking minorities in Eastern Europe), and the potential complexity of adding many more official languages.
From a multilingualism-in-Europe perspective, several points stand out:
- Institutional recognition matters: Languages like Catalan, Basque, Galician already function socially and politically; but full “official and working” status in EU institutions would shift their visibility and resources.
- Precedent risk: The resistance of Member States is partly grounded in fear of “opening the floodgates” — once you add three, what about dozens more? The logic of equality collides with institutional practicality.
- Translation & cost implications: Making a language official in the EU entails more translations, interpreters, terminological work — these are real costs and resource issues, not only symbolic.
- Power asymmetries in language politics: Even within multilingual states like Spain, some languages have stronger institutionalised status than others; but at EU level the playing field tilts heavily towards large languages or those already recognised.
- Education, localization and professional implications: If these languages gained official status, we could expect shifts in translation/localisation demand, terminological work, multilingual digital resources and perhaps new job streams.
If you were a decision-maker in the EU, would you approve the inclusion of Catalan, Basque and Galician as official languages? Why or why not? How do you think this debate reflects on smaller languages in your country/region? In your view, what is the greatest barrier to recognising more languages at EU level: cost, precedent, political will, or something else?
Happy to hear your thoughts!