Parliamentary Clash Erupts Over Language Rights in Spain

Spanish Parliament Debates Language Rights: Rufián Challenges Government on Catalan, Basque, and Galician. The Spanish parliament witnessed a heated debate on May 28, 2025, when Gabriel Rufián of the ERC questioned the government's stance on the official recognition of Catalan, Basque, and Galician languages within the European Union. The debate followed the postponement of a crucial vote on the issue. Rufián directly addressed Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the Partido Popular (PP), highlighting the contradiction of Feijóo's past Galician-language election campaigns while simultaneously supporting a veto on the language's official status. "What do you think, Mr. Feijóo, being Galician, and campaigning in Galician? It's also a language that is vetoed." Rufián stated. José Manuel Albares, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, responded by acknowledging the long-standing delay in the negotiations, stating, "We are in the middle of a negotiation that arrives with 40 years of delay." The debate underscores the ongoing tension surrounding linguistic diversity and political power dynamics in Spain.