The Government and the Popular Party will meet again on February 12 in Brussels to continue the “structured dialogue” on the situation of the judicial power in Spain inaugurated yesterday in the community capital under the auspices of the European Commission. Despite the evident climate of mutual mistrust, the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, celebrated the “commitment” of the parties to reach an agreement to implement the double recommendation included in their latest reports on the Rule of Law, is that is, the “priority” renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and the reform of the system for electing judges.
“We are convinced that, with the European Commission, we have an opportunity that may be the last to recover the normality that the Council, the judiciary and Spain need”, assured the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, in statements to the press at the end of the meeting. “I trust that all the actors are up to it,” he added. Immediately afterwards, the negotiator of the PP, Esteban González Pons, intervened, who declared himself “very pessimistic” about the possibilities of agreeing with a Government that “the first thing that sacrifices is judicial independence” but, at the same time, assured that he is “committed ” with the process.
In a clear allusion that Reynders not only hopes that this negotiation will conclude with an agreement to renew the CGPJ but also with an agreement on the system of electing judges, so that it is more independent from political power and therefore in line with European standards, Pons emphasized that the meeting “met” the “expectations”. “We are satisfied because the talks will be broad and extensive, with an ambitious purpose”, concluded the institutional deputy secretary of the PP, who like Bolaños went to Brussels already on Tuesday to participate in yesterday’s meeting, which lasted 90 minutes .
The European Commission is aware of the toxicity that surrounds this negotiation, which is why it has asked the Government and the PP for maximum discretion regarding their contacts, which is why details about the working method that have been set have not been revealed. At the same time that Bolaños and Pons appeared before the press, Reynders published a short statement in which he celebrated the “commitment” of the parties and explained that he reminded them of the “known position” of the EC on the subject and the need to have “a constructive dialogue”.
Although they differ in the analysis of the situation, Bolaños and Pons agreed that this format, absolutely abnormal, could allow the lost institutional normality to be recovered.
The tendency of Spanish political life to externalize and bring its national problems to Europe had several more manifestations yesterday in Brussels. MEPs from the PP and Vox pushed forward an amendment to the Civil Liberties and Justice Committee of the European Parliament that calls on EU member states to, within the framework of the new anti-corruption rules, specifically prohibit pardons or amnesties for embezzlement crimes of public funds. “Pedro Sánchez will have to give a lot of explanations to the fugitive Puigdemont when he cannot include Pujol and company in his infamous law”, said Jorge Buxadé (Vox) on social networks, while the PP assures that the approval of the amendment “they leave evidence” the Government of Spain. “Parliament does not conceive of pardons or amnesties for crimes of corruption”, concluded Javier Zarzalejos.
The amendment in question still has to be voted on by the plenary session of the Eurochamber and, if it goes ahead, will form part of its position for the negotiation with those, who have not yet set their position, for which However, negotiations are not expected to begin until the next legislature.
For its part, the delegation of Citizens in the Eurochamber proclaimed that the Commission had “confirmed” to them the opening of an “investigation” in Spain on the Amnesty law, an announcement that was quickly denied. “There is nothing new, as we said previously we are in contact with the Spanish authorities and we are analyzing the draft of the law”, clarified community sources.
The basis of the alleged confusion is the written answer that the Commission gave to the leader of Cs in the European Parliament, Adrián Vázquez, who has asked them to see the questions they have asked the Government about the draft law. The institution denied his request on the grounds that if he published them “it would undermine the protection of the objective of ongoing investigations”. The term investigations, community sources stress, is used in a generic way, as it is what is provided for in the regulation on requests for information. Reynders only plans to comment on the law when it is adopted and will not comment on the Spanish legislative process.