The leader of the PSC and the opposition in Catalonia, Salvador Illa, on a trip until today in Brussels, met yesterday with one of the vice presidents of the European Parliament, the Luxembourger Marc Angel, to reaffirm the commitment of the socialists with the objective of achieving the official status and use of Catalan in the institutions of the European Union, a commitment that is a consequence of the investiture process of Pedro Sánchez.
Although the objective is to achieve the status of official language of the EU for Catalan, its practical implementation could still take several years – Irish, the last language made official by the community club, took six years to implement its use – therefore, Last September, the European socialist group, together with the Greens, promoted a debate at the European Parliament Board, so that co-official languages could be used during their plenary sessions until the official language arrived.
Illa yesterday highlighted the “importance for Catalonia” of promoting the use and official status of Catalan in the EU, and endorsed the two paths that have been undertaken as proof of the “undoubted commitment” of the socialists in this mission.
For now, the president of the European Parliament, the popular Roberta Metsola, decided in September to commission the secretary general of the institution with a report to address the matter later. The socialists want the governing body of the European Parliament to vote on the use of Catalan in plenary sessions because they see possibilities of a position in favor. To do this, they have the support of seven representatives of the 14 that make up the Board, but they need one more vote – in favor or abstention – to reach the majority. Achieving that vote seems complicated since the rest, liberal and popular, are more than reticent.
At the same time, the General Affairs Council, which must decide on the official status of Catalan, has once again included the discussion on the agenda of its meeting on October 24. But the ratification of its use in the plenary sessions of the European Parliament would offer sufficient guarantees about the commitment of the socialists and the Government to this company for the independentists to consider this condition fulfilled among the various ones they have established to support Sánchez's investiture.
Illa has moved to the community capital with an intense agenda that highlights, among others, the meeting she had with Angel; with the president of the Committee of the Regions, Vasco Cordeiro – just in the Week of Regions and Cities –, and with the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, the seventh European Commissioner he has seen in three years, and with which dealt with issues related to the industry, the digital agenda and the political situation in Catalonia and Spain.
The leader of the PSC once again used “prudence and discretion” when evaluating the latest information related to the investiture. He dispatched Sumar's amnesty proposal and the options proposed by the Government regarding the clarity agreement. He did not meet Carles Puigdemont either: “With all due respect, I did not come to that”
