Today, the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, met with the Minister-President of Flanders, Jan Jambon, whom he thanked for his support for the official recognition of Catalan in European institutions, especially now that Belgium holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union.

“I would like to publicly thank Minister-President Jambon for his support for the recognition of Catalan in European institutions”, said the President in a joint press conference following the meeting they held at the Palau de la Generalitat.

Aragonès emphasised that the Government of Catalonia is continuing its diplomatic efforts to “gain allies” for the recognition of Catalan in the European Union and that the support of Flanders is crucial to ensure that “what was not fully accomplished during the Spanish presidency continues to be on the table and is expedited during the Belgian presidency” of the EU Council.

Aragonès assured that the meeting with Minister-President Jambon “is evidence of the excellent relationship of friendship and complicity between Catalonia and Flanders, two European nations that share a strong affinity, but above all, a very firm willingness to collaborate”.

He explained that this historical relationship is enshrined in the collaboration agreement that the two governments have had since 2008 and will continue with the drawing up of a work plan for the 2025-2027 period. This plan will include the strategic challenges shared by Flanders and Catalonia, such as cybersecurity, digital culture, support for start-ups, semiconductors, photonics, quantum technology, green hydrogen, marine policy and the blue economy.

Furthermore, President Aragonès pointed out that Flanders and Catalonia have a “clear international outlook”. In this regard, he argued that “nations like ours must play a key role in European institutions to defend the interests of the citizens of our territories, to influence European Union policies, and to contribute to addressing the major future challenges of the continent”.

Just a few days before the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the President of Generalitat once again showed solidarity with the Ukrainian people and with the Russian citizens who are fighting against the regime of Vladimir Putin. For this reason, he expressed his support for people like Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who was assassinated in a Russian prison. ”We stand alongside all those citizens of Russia who defend democracy in their country against the tyranny of Putin”.