Spain allows regional languages to be spoken in parliament for 1st time

OVIEDO, Spain

Spanish politicians can speak in regional languages in the nation’s parliament from Tuesday, marking a first in Spain’s recent history.

As the government reconvenes, politicians are permitted to speak Catalan, Basque, Valencian or Galician – Spain's co-official languages.

The decision came amid negotiations between the country’s acting left-wing government and regionalist groups. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez needs their support to remain in power after July’s national elections resulted in a hung Parliament.

The price tag for the change is more than €53,000 ($56,000), according to El Pais, which was the cost of the 650 earpieces for the politicians, guests and journalists to listen to simultaneous translations. On top of that, 12 interpreters will be temporarily hired.

Politicians may also speak other minority languages in parliament, even those not recognized as co-official, such as Asturian or the whistle language Silbo Gomero. In those cases, the politicians will have to translate into Spanish.

On Tuesday, Spain’s acting government was also hoping to get the EU’s approval to allow Catalan, Galician and Basque to be spoken at the European level as well.

“What (Foreign Minister) Jose Manuel Albares is doing is defending the Spanish constitution and the European treaties, which aim to protect cultural heritage like different languages,” Isabel Rodríguez, the government spokesperson, said Tuesday morning.

In a vote in Brussels on Tuesday, the European member states moved to postpone the decision, saying they need more time to discuss opening the floor to languages other than the 24 currently used.

Albares later said that no state had vetoed the inclusion of the languages and that countries would continue discussing the Spanish proposal, which would need unanimous support.