Spain deploys threats to push EU recognition of minority languages

Good morning. Donald Trump has said he will delay his threat of 50 per cent tariffs on the EU and extend trade negotiations until July 9, following a call with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen last night.

Today, our Brussels team reports on Spain threatening its EU allies in a bid to force them to support recognition of its minority languages, and explain the state of play as the Mercosur trade deal heads for showdown votes.

¿Qué?

Spain is attempting to muscle other EU countries into recognising Basque, Catalan and Galician as official languages of the EU — even going so far as to question the deployment of its troops in eastern states, write Barbara Moens and Andy Bounds.

Context: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez needs the votes of Catalan separatists led by the party Junts per Catalunya to pass substantive legislation in the Spanish parliament. They, as well as Galician and Basque parties, are demanding their language be officially recognised.

Spain failed in a 2023 bid to have the languages added to the EU roster, which already boasts 24 official ones. But tomorrow, EU ministers are scheduled to vote on the demand again.

Some worry the recognition could set a precedent for other minority languages, balking at the additional translation costs. To garner support for the measure, Madrid has used carrots and sticks — deeply upsetting some EU allies.

Madrid has offered to pay for the annual translation and interpretation costs of €132mn, although diplomats doubt whether Spain will continue picking up the tab in the long run.

But Spanish diplomats have also threatened that a lack of support could make Madrid rethink their defence commitments to some EU countries, such as their troops in the Baltics, officials from other countries said.

Spain, which is the sole major holdout on a plan for all 32 Nato allies to commit to raising defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, has around 600 troops in Latvia as part of Nato’s forward defence deployments. It also has jets participating in patrols in the Baltic and several based in Romania.

A spokesperson for the Latvian permanent representation in Brussels declined to comment on the threats, which come as Nato fears Russian aggression against eastern European states.

“It’s bullying,” said a diplomat briefed on the threats. “And outrageous at a time like this.”

A person close to Spain’s foreign ministry said: “Spain’s commitment to the security of eastern Europe and the presence of Spanish troops in eastern European countries is firm and unconditional. It is not and has never been in question.”

“With regard to the co-official languages, the Spanish government is working with all member states so that the final wording of the document resolves any doubts they may have,” they added.

Some countries are pressuring Poland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, to pull the item from the agenda to allow for more talks.

Chart du jour: Surprisingly good

The EU is almost on track to meet its 2030 climate target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent compared with 1990 levels.

Counting votes

The fate of the EU’s blockbuster Mercosur trade deal hangs in the balance, both in the council of EU ministers and in the European parliament, write Andy Bounds and Alice Hancock.

Context: Brussels finally inked the accord with four Latin American countries in December after 20 years of talks. But the trade deal with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay still needs to be ratified by a weighted majority of member states and the European parliament.

Officials say that the European Commission, which negotiated the agreement, will submit it for approval in June, after the Polish presidential elections.

European farmers don’t like Mercosur as they don’t want to be undercut by Latin American beef and wheat imports. Their opposition has ensured France, Poland, the Netherlands and others publicly oppose the agreement.

Poland could change its position after the election, which would ensure enough votes in the council. But things also look tricky in parliament, where MEPs from the far left, far right and the Greens oppose the pact.

Five MEPs of the liberal Volt, a pan-European party that sits with the Greens in Strasbourg, have however come out in favour. Damian Boeselager, co-founder of Volt, told the Financial Times that the Mercosur agreement was “an opportunity to deepen ties with South American democracies, promote fairer trade standards . . . and reduce our over-dependence on a few dominant powers like China and the US”.

His colleague, Dutch Volt MEP Reinier van Lanschot, said that Mercosur also represented a chance for the EU to exert some soft power: “We shape standards by being at the table, not by walking away.”

What to watch today

1. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to join informal meeting of Nordic prime ministers in Finland.

2. EU development ministers meet.

3. EU ministers for agriculture and fisheries meet.

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