The Government and the Popular Party will meet again on February 12 in Brussels to continue the “structured dialogue” on the situation of the judiciary in Spain inaugurated today in the community capital under the auspices of the European Commission. Despite the evident climate of mutual distrust, the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, has celebrated the “commitment” of the parties to reach an agreement to apply the double recommendation included in his latest reports on the rule of law, i.e. , the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and the reform of the system of election of judges.
“We are going to work hard in the coming days. We are convinced that, with the help of the European Commission, we have an opportunity that may be the last to recover that normality that the Council, the judiciary and Spain need,” assured the Minister of Justice, Enrique Bolaños, in statements to the press at the end of the meeting. “I trust that all the actors are up to the task,” he added. The PP negotiator, Esteban González Pons, for his part, has declared himself “very pessimistic” about the possibilities of reaching an agreement with a Government that “the first thing it sacrifices is the independence of the judiciary” but has declared himself “committed ” with the process.
In a clear allusion to the fact that Reynders not only aspires for this negotiation to be settled with an agreement to renew the CGPJ but also with an agreement on the system of election of judges, which Brussels recommends be more independent of political power and in accordance with both with European standards, Pons has acknowledged that the meeting has “met” his “expectations.” “We are satisfied because the conversations are going to be broad and extensive, with an ambitious purpose,” concluded the institutional vice-secretary of the PP, who like Bolaños traveled yesterday to the community capital to participate in today’s meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes. . That they have decided to return indicates that “there must have been” progress, he added.
The European Commission is aware of the toxicity surrounding this negotiation, which is why it has asked the Government and the PP for maximum discretion regarding their contacts, which is why no details have been revealed about the working method that has been established. At the same time that Bolaños and Pons appeared before the Spanish press, Reynders published a brief statement in which he celebrated the “commitment” shown by the parties and explained that, at the meeting, he reminded them of the “well-known position of the EC about the issue and the importance of engaging in constructive dialogue. Although they differ in their analysis of the situation, Bolaños and Pons have agreed that the format, absolutely abnormal, could allow us to recover the institutional normality lost in Spain.
