Plaid Cymru Euro-MP Jill Evans has welcomed an agreement reached in Brussels this week on EU languages as a positive boost for Plaid's campaign to improve the status of Welsh in Europe and eventually have the language recognised as an official EU language.
An accord reached at an EU Ministers' meeting between Spain and the EU means that for the first time non-official languages - Catalan, Basque and Galician - can be used at official meetings and in correspondence.
The agreement heralds a new era in the EU's language regime where previously only the official languages of its member states were used. The agreement was signed in Brussels by Spain's Foreign Minister and UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw - the UK currently holds the EU's rotating Presidency.
Plaid Cymru is campaigning for Welsh speakers to be able to correspond with EU institutions in their own language and for politicians to be able to use Welsh at EU level meetings, including in the European Parliament.
Jill Evans MEP commented:
"I commend the Foreign Secretary for reaching this agreement with the Spanish government - he now has no excuse for failing to ensure that the Welsh language is afforded the same status as Catalan, Galician and Basque without delay.
The fact that this accord has been reached shows us what can and must be our next steps in terms of improving the status of Welsh in the European Union.
As we have pointed out, giving Welsh greater status in Europe would not only bring immediate practical benefits for Welsh speakers, it would also be hugely symbolic and bring direct economic benefits in boosting the translation industry."
Notes
At a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels this week, the Spanish government signed an agreement with the EU Presidency (represented by Jack Straw) which will allow citizens to correspond with certain European institutions in Catalan, Galician and Basque and for simultaneous translation to be provided on request in those languages at ministerial meetings. An agreement relating to the use of Catalan, Galician and Basque in the European Parliament is due to be reached by early 2006.
Diwedd/Ends.
