A meeting was held in the Council of the European Union (EU) on Tuesday to formalise Basque, Catalan and Galician, but they have not voted. The Foreign Ministers present indicate that they need more time to analyse the proposal of the Spanish Government.

The Council of Euskalgintza has adopted a "disgust" for delaying the decision. "Today was a unique opportunity to take a further step in the recognition and normalisation of our languages and to deepen the linguistic rights of all European citizens and therefore human rights".

They said so yesterday at a press conference held at the European Parliament: Council Secretary General Idurre Eskisabel spoke with representatives of the European Network for Linguistic Equality of ELEN and with leaders of social organisations working on the standardization of Catalan and Galician.

However, the Council has not lost hope, and after the delay the EU Council hopes that the official language will be adopted because "those who believe in linguistic diversity and diversity in general can hardly refuse this proposal".

Languages available at the Spanish Congress

On the other hand, since Tuesday, politicians have the opportunity to speak in Basque, Catalan or Galician in the Spanish Congress. For the Council, the measure is "welcome", "although it should have been a long time".

The Council has applauded the decision taken by the Catalan and Galician parties, announcing that they will henceforth be agreed in Catalan and Galician.

However, the Basque parties have expressed their intention to use Basque and Spanish. The Council has been concerned that "Euskera, as a minority language, can be undermined".