But documents summarizing this week’s meeting of the bloc’s ambassadors, seen by POLITICO, indicate serious doubts regarding Madrid’s bid.
While Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovakia supported granting EU recognition to the Spain’s additional official languages, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany and Sweden backed Italy’s demands for “further clarity on the costs and legal implications of the move.”
Madrid has vowed to foot the bill for the potentially millions of euros to add the languages into the EU’s translation and interpretation framework. But Sánchez’s promise has not swayed all his colleagues in the Council of the EU.
Two EU diplomats, granted anonymity to discuss the confidential proceedings, confirmed the split among the two groups of capitals.
EU countries opposing the move are concerned about the impact adding official languages could have on the bloc’s bottom line. The EU currently spends more than €1 billion per year to translate all EU laws, proposals and decisions — past, present and future — into the bloc’s 24 official languages.
It’s unclear how much more cash would be required to incorporate Spain’s additional languages into that group. EU countries are skeptical that Madrid would pick up those costs indefinitely.
