Barcelona admits it does not inspect or sanction businesses that breach Catalan language rules
The city’s response to complaints has focused on sending information letters to businesses rather than carrying out inspections
Barcelona City Council has acknowledged that it has neither carried out inspections nor opened sanctioning proceedings against businesses reported for allegedly breaching language regulations. The council says it prioritises “awareness-raising and information” before resorting to inspections.
The admission emerged following a complaint filed with the Catalan Ombudsman (Síndic de Greuges de Catalunya) by a language activist who had reported 76 businesses in Barcelona over alleged breaches related to the use of Catalan on signage and in customer service.
According to reports in several media outlets, the City Council formally informed the Ombudsman on August 4 that the businesses concerned “have not, for the time being, been included in any specific inspection campaign.”
The council also explicitly acknowledged that “no inspections have been carried out and no sanctioning proceedings have been initiated” in relation to these cases.
Letters to businesses instead of inspections
The City Council’s response to the complaints has focused on sending information letters to the businesses through Barcelona’s Municipal Consumer Information Office (OMIC).
In these communications, the council reminds businesses that legislation requires certain information intended for consumers to be available at least in Catalan, including elements such as signage, receipts, invoices and contractual documentation.
The council also provides businesses with access to advisory resources from OMIC and the Consortium for Language Normalisation. However, according to the information provided to the Ombudsman, these notices have not been followed by inspections or subsequent checks to determine whether the businesses reported have corrected the alleged breaches.
The municipal government led by Jaume Collboni has justified this approach by stating that it currently “prioritises awareness-raising and information measures before any inspection action.”
Pilot scheme to assess the presence of Catalan
At the same time, the City Council says it is developing other broader measures to assess and promote the use of Catalan in the commercial sector.
These include preparations for a pilot scheme in the Gràcia district to study the presence of Catalan in businesses, as well as various information initiatives aimed at establishments on La Rambla.
The controversy, however, goes beyond the absence of inspections. The citizen who filed the complaints also submitted a public information access request (SAIP) seeking details about the status of the cases and any potential inspection measures.
After receiving no response from the City Council, the complainant turned to the Commission for the Guarantee of the Right of Access to Public Information (GAIP).
On August 25, he submitted the Ombudsman’s documentation to the Commission to argue that the City Council possessed the information he had requested despite failing to respond to his application.
The complainant considers the situation an “unjustified violation of the right of access” to public information and is asking for it to be taken into account when the Commission issues its decision on the case.