In a coordinated initiative between Plataforma per la Llengua and Irish MEP Chris MacManus, the Council of the European Union confirms in writing that it has never been requested by this institution to make Catalan an official language in the EU

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs had stated at the end of last year that the Zapatero government had requested the official status of Catalan and that this was not possible because it required treaty reform More info about "The Council of the EU refutes the Spanish government and confirms that Spain has never requested Catalan to be official in Europe"

Mireia Plana, vice-president of the organisation, says: "There are nine meetings as President of the Council from next Saturday, when it begins, until 23 July, and that means nine opportunities to request the reform of the Council Regulation that establishes the official languages"

The event "Catalan, 25^th Official EU Language" has set out the consequences for the Catalan language of not being official in the European Union and the importance of making a great effort to press this cause just before Spain takes on the rotating presidency of the Union in July

Antoni Bassas, a journalist with a long career in international politics; Narcís Mir, jurist and the Catalan government's head of monitoring EU regulations, and Halldor Mar, a singer-songwriter known for his TV appearances in the programme Katalonski, have taken part in an event led by journalist Magda Gregori More info about "Plataforma per la Llengua asks the Spanish government to make Catalan official in the EU before the elections"

Maria de Lluc Muñoz, international officer for Plataforma per la Llengua, attends the annual general assembly of the NPLD last Thursday and Friday in Rennes, Brittany

The NPLD is a European network of governments, academic institutions and civil society organisations aiming to achieve language policies that promote diversity More info about "Plataforma per la Llengua, re-elected as a member of the steering committee of the European Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity"

The Belgian courts are investigating the facts reported in the criminal complaint presented by Plataforma per la Llengua based on an expert report which reveals that various members of the NGO have had their mobile phones infected with cyberespionage software

Because some of the spying victims live in Brussels, we have been able to take the case to the Belgian courts, which will have to investigate whether the Spanish State has ignored the legal procedures for tapping telephones in other European States, and demand that it identifies those responsible for the espionage  

Spying on the Catalan NGO is a violation of the individual rights of people who have made a voluntary commitment to defend the Catalan language, and it proves that language continues to be one of the Spanish State's main battlegrounds More info about "Plataforma per la Llengua makes a criminal complaint against the Spanish State for spying on us via the mobile phones of members of our executive board"

The summit had four working parties that included experts on each particular topic

The participants visited the gipsy community in the higher part of Tarragona and the Altafulla castellers, and were able to enjoy cultural tourism in both places More info about "Catalonia hosts the annual meeting of FUEN’s Non-Kin-State working group"

Plataforma per la Llengua proposed Altafulla to host the annual meeting of this working group of FUEN, one of the main networks defending national and language minorities, and it will act as the host organisation

The meeting will be held on the first and second of June and its main theme will be the presence of minority languages in public services and new technologies More info about "The European network FUEN chooses Catalonia to host the meeting of the Non-Kin State working group of nations and minorities without a state"

The Administrative Court of Montpellier, in a supremacist decision, has ordered that French should take precedence over Catalan

Our organisation urges the French government to ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) and to make Catalan official in Northern Catalonia, calling for international protection against this violation of language rights  More info about "We denounce the fact that the French judicial system has relegated Catalan to secondary use in municipal council meetings"

Marc Guevara, technical manager of the education and universities department of Plataforma per la Llengua, sets out the language emergency situation of Catalan, especially among young people, and explains the situation of the language in schools

The fifth annual meeting brings together representatives of many linguistic minorities and makes it possible to learn about the education system for Germans in Romania and the challenges raised for national minorities by the new Romanian education law More info about "We deplore the emergency situation of Catalan at a meeting of the education group of the European network FUEN in Transylvania"

The initiative formed part of the Kensington Book Day Festival backed by the Government of Catalonia's office in the United States and Canada, in cooperation with Plataforma per la Llengua

The presentation gives figures on the vitality of the language and denounces the minoritization it is suffering at the hands of Spanish, French, Italian and European institutions More info about "The exhibition “The Catalan language: 10 million European voices” arrives in the United States for the first time"

Futbol Club Barcelona, the Barcelona Medical Association, Intersindical Valenciana, the Balearic Island trade union STEI Intersindical, the employers' association CECOT, Girona Chamber of Commerce and the political parties Junts and ERC are among the latest to give their support

The organisations complain that the lack of official status mean "Catalan is discriminated against in legislation" and "the rights of Catalan speakers are contravened", and they want to take advantage of the fact that the Spanish State will take on the rotating presidency of the EU Council in order to achieve official status for the language

The promoters of the manifesto are calling on organisations to lend their support via info@oficialitatara.cat, and they encourage citizens to support it on the website More info about "More than 60 organisations back the manifesto urging the Spanish Government to make Catalan official in the European Union"