Spain y Catalonia This year they celebrate the 40th anniversary of the accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), the seed of the current EU. To remember that historical event and the challenges that lie ahead for the community club and the international projection of Catalonia, EL PERIÓDICO speaks with the Minister of the European Union and Foreign Action, Jaume Duch.
What have these 40 years of membership in the EU meant for Spain and Catalonia?
The change has been radical, almost overnight. It is evident that the situation 40 years ago was very different from that of now from many points of view, and the possibility of joining the EEC changed many things, it meant very important support from an economic point of view, but at the same time it meant entering a space of democracy, of respect for freedoms, human rights and values. Participating in the European Community was a way to consolidate democratic change in Spain.
How does the Government plan to commemorate the anniversary?
The Government is clear that it is important to reclaim these 40 years because they have surely been the best 40 years in our history. Furthermore, it is time to take stock. Just a figure: the Catalan GDP when Spain entered the EEC was about 38,000 million euros, at this moment it is more than 280,000 million. But at the same time, the Government wants to take advantage of this year to launch reflection on where this EU should evolve to face very different and probably much more difficult challenges than those of a few years ago. It is time for Catalonia to defend Europe and it is important that we Catalans realize that our future is linked in a very obvious way to the future of the EU itself.
“It is time for Catalonia to defend Europe and it is important that we Catalans realize that our future is linked to that of the EU itself”
What are the most relevant challenges in the short and medium term?
There are many in the coming months because the situation in the world has changed quite radically. This has altered the parameters of international relations and also the parameters of the EU’s own priorities. Once again the EU will have to reinvent itself and be able to be flexible to face challenges ranging from security and defense to competitiveness. In an increasingly competitive world, in which there are fewer and more rules to regulate international trade, Europe must be able to open up more and Catalonia in this sense also with the rest of Europe.
Jaume Duch, Councilor of the European Union and External Action / FERRAN NADEU
This is a crucial moment for the European project, threatened from different fronts, be it Moscow, Washington or far-right forces within European institutions. How are these attacks countered?
The first thing to do is recognize the problem, draw conclusions. We cannot deceive ourselves. Many times the attacks against the EU, in essence, seek to attack the democratic systems of the member countries themselves, to attack the European model of full democracy and respect for freedoms, human rights and values, and to weaken it. The EU is the great democratic shield of its Member States and is surely the most effective protection we have to face these attacks.
Under Trump, the EU has opted for the tactic of “appeasement” but, given the National Security Strategy, it seems that it is not having any effect. Should the Twenty-Seven and Brussels be more forceful?
This strategy has just opened the eyes of those who perhaps did not yet want to take a real photograph of the situation. I do see a stronger reaction and, in fact, we saw it at the last European Council, where the States were able to approve a mobilization of 90 billion euros for Ukraine. That said, I believe that we must coexist with the United States and, therefore, without being naive, we must know in which fields we can cooperate and in which others cooperation will no longer be so strong. The US continues to be the EU’s first trading partner and vice versa, and this will not change. Now, when we see these attacks, we have to be able to respond by putting in place our own protection systems, that social market economy and that regime of freedoms that, in the end, is what makes us special compared to other parts of the world.
“Trump’s National Security Strategy has just opened the eyes of those who perhaps did not yet want to take a real picture of the situation”
One of the objectives of Salvador Illa’s Government is to promote the role of the regions in the EU. What real margin do they have today to influence Brussels and what does the Government aspire to?
Maybe they can play more in the future, we are there, but they already play an important role. In recent months, different organizations from powerful regions, such as Catalonia itself, and the European Committee of the Regions have played an important role in opposing the first ideas that the Commission had about how to organize EU financing for the next seven years and, above all, what role sub-state governments should play when programming and executing spending programs. The proposal that is on the table is no longer the same as it was a few months ago and this is largely due to the pressure we exerted.
Jaume Duch, Councilor of the European Union and External Action / FERRAN NADEU
Does the request for recognition of the Catalan have a future after it has been off the Council table for months?
Yes, yes, the negotiation continues. The fact that it has not been brought to the Council’s agenda is precisely because the negotiation continues. I share the position of the Spanish Government, which is doing a very good job, which is not to return to the Council until there is unanimity in favor of official status. What is being done now is bilateral work with those few remaining countries that still do not see that this decision has to be made. We are also contributing to this work as much as we can with our contacts, with our actions and I am one of those who thinks that this will eventually arrive.
Do you trust that it will be in 2026?
I would very much like it to be in 2026 and we will do as much work as possible.
What real resistance exists within the EU to taking this step and to what extent is it political rather than technical?
The few remaining reluctances are rather the result of ignorance regarding the role these languages play and the importance they have for those who speak them. I do not think that it can be said that they are political and even less technical because if you can speak Catalan in the Committee of the Regions, in the Economic and Social Committee or in the Council of Ministers, it is evident that Catalan can be made official without too many technical problems.
“I would very much like the official status of Catalan in the EU to be achieved in 2026 and we will do as much work as possible”
President Illa has carried out great foreign activity since his inauguration. What is the balance?
Positive balance. This year the president has been able to launch a fairly important international policy with two trips to Asia, one to Japan and Korea and another to China, and a more recent trip to Mexico. This shows what the priorities of this Government are in terms of international projection and, above all, economic projection in this world of American tariffs and certain trade tensions.
By 2026, what other areas of the world are you considering prioritizing?
We must continue working hard on the Asian continent. India and Vietnam have also been identified as strategic in the Government’s Asia Plan. If the agreement with Mercosur comes into force, we must draw the consequences for our presence in countries like Argentina and Brazil. But we will have to look at other places. There are countries in North Africa where we already have an important economic, cultural and social presence that must be developed. And much remains to be done in Europe itself. If the European internal market is completed in the coming months, this will give us many more tools when it comes to increasing our commercial interrelation with the other EU countries.
“(In the contract with Huawei for the deployment of public fiber optics) we have adjusted to the legislation both at the European level and at the Spanish and Catalan level”
The Government awarded a joint venture made up of the Catalan company Sirt and the Chinese company Huawei a substantial contract for the deployment of public fiber optics. The opposition has criticized the Government for not adjusting to the EU criteria in this regard. What is the Government’s response?
We have adjusted to the legislation both at the European level and at the Spanish and Catalan level, as it could not be otherwise, apart from the fact that the company is not chosen by the Government, it is chosen by an independent contracting table. And what this table should do is not only compare the different offers but above all ensure that the offers comply with the regulations, as is the case.
The Government’s plan is to open three new delegations abroad: China, Canada and Jordan. Is there a set calendar or do we have to wait to have budgets?
No, we have already begun to take steps to open them and, therefore, the calendar is basically the calendar of the ease with which they can be opened. We are working in parallel with these three countries and it will also depend on the procedures of each of these countries and their administrations.
Do you have a forecast?
In the next few months.
So it would be in 2026?
Yes, yes, in any case.
Jaume Duch, Councilor of the European Union and External Action / FERRAN NADEU
Does the Government plan to open more delegations in other countries during the rest of the legislature?
Not at this moment. I believe that until we have finished strengthening the 21 existing delegations and opening the three new ones, it makes no sense to consider what else we want to do.
At what point is the creation of the body of foreign action officials?
This has also been advanced. The Parliament approved the law just before the summer. Now we are developing this law so that a first competition can be published for the first positions of officials of this technical body of the Generalitat. This means preparing agendas, but it also means all the work that the Generalitat’s own public function must carry out in order to be able to implement it from an administrative point of view.
What deadlines are they considering?
This work should be completed during 2026, so that we could start activating this body no later than next year.
“2026 should be a year of budgetary expansion of development cooperation because one of the objectives of this Government is that in 2030 we reach the famous 0.7%”
He recently announced an agreement between the Government and the European Commission to develop a cooperation project worth six million euros, two of which are contributed by Catalonia. Have you already decided on the geographic location and scope of the project?
We are talking to the Commission and other smaller entities involved in this project and I hope that in a few weeks we will be able to decide how we want to do it. For us it is very important that this serves as a pilot for other possible initiatives, it must be an example of how administrations at the European level and at the level of Catalonia can collaborate so that not only the interest of the States is taken into account but also the particular interests of those territories like Catalonia that put a part of their money into cooperation.
Looking ahead to the next budgets, is it planned to increase the amount allocated to cooperation?
Yes of course. We think that 2026 should be a year of budgetary expansion of development cooperation because one of the objectives of this Government is that in 2030 we reach the famous 0.7% of the budget dedicated to cooperation. And if we want to reach that 0.7% we will have to make a certain effort in the coming years.
What percentage are we at now?
In 2024 it reached 0.24% and in 2025, despite having extended budgets, the forecast was that we would reach 0.26%. There is still a lot of work to do. The years of economic and monetary crisis are noticeable.
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