“No concern” for the amnesty bill currently under debate in Congress, but “maximum concern” for the persistent blockade of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ). This is the summary communicated to the press by the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, at the end of the official visit to Brussels, where yesterday he met with the vice-president of the European Commission, Vera Jourová, and with the holder of the portfolio of Justice, Didier Reynders.
The meetings lasted around an hour each, according to sources from both parties. The community executive avoided reporting on the discussions they had held, but Reynders noted on social networks that it had been “a good meeting” and that “the dialogue will continue”, while Jourová limited herself to listing the affairs on the health of the rule of law in Spain that were discussed at the meeting, such as the situation of the governing body of judges and the amnesty law.
“I am again calling on the Popular Party to come to its senses, comply with the Constitution, comply with the law and renew the CGPJ”, claimed Bolaños in a press conference, who insisted that most of the discussions had focused on this issue and not on the amnesty law, although it had been the trigger for the visit to the community capital, as Reynders asked him for information on the issue before there was even a legislative draft.
“About this law, I can say that there is no concern at all in the European Commission about the health and strength of the rule of law and the separation of powers in Spain. Not at all They know perfectly well the proposed law that has been presented, they know that it is absolutely in accordance with the Constitution, the Spanish legal system, Community law and European values”, he remarked.
Beyond the legal arguments, Minister Bolaños also used a few of a political nature to defend the amnesty law. “I explained to them the purpose of the law, the details and also something that is well understood in Europe, which is that the beneficiaries of the law are not 300 people with pending criminal cases, but the whole of Catalan and Spanish society”. claimed Bolaños after meeting with Vice President Jourová and Commissioner Reynders, who was Belgium’s Minister of Justice when Carles Puigdemont and a few councilors sought refuge in Brussels. “If we get it enacted to normalize the political, social and institutional situation in Catalonia, we will take giant steps in coexistence, that’s why we promoted this law”, he added.
Bolaños’ visit to Brussels takes place a week after the plenary debate of the European Parliament on the amnesty law and coincides with the PP’s announcement that it has presented a battery of questions about the law to the Committee on Petitions of European Parliament that will make this body, with zero operational capacity, talk about the proposal.
“It is legitimate to oppose the amnesty law, but do not play with the good name of Spain to do politics”, Bolaños asked the PP, whom he accused of “causing noise”, given that in Brussels “there is no doubt” about the “fully constitutional and adjusted to the values ??of the European Union” nature of the amnesty law. “I would appreciate the PP not trying to damage the reputation of our country”, he said.
The last two annual reports on the situation of the rule of law in Spain recommend giving the “highest priority” to the renewal of the CGPJ and, then, agreeing to the reform of the system for electing judges. In fact, the first issue that Commissioner Reynders addressed in the letter sent at the beginning of the month to the Central Government, in which he mentioned that he had received an avalanche of messages from citizens and associations about the amnesty law and asked for information on the matter .
According to the minister, the Commission “knows perfectly who is responsible that we are not able to renew” the governing body of the judges, referring to the PP. “Five years is barbaric, there is no room for more excuses for not complying with the Constitution”, he remarked. “It is a fact that affects not only the institutional normality of the governing body of judges in Spain, but also the citizens in their right to judicial protection”, concluded Bolaños, who did not clarify whether he had asked Brussels · those who mediate so that the PP is able to find a solution as soon as possible.