This Wednesday, the European Commission formally asked the Government of Spain for explanations about the amnesty law. Until now, the position in Brussels had been to wait for at least a definitive text before making a statement, but the commissioners’ phone does not stop ringing and after seeing how the General Council of the Judiciary issued an opinion on the matter, this same week, the Commissioner of Justice, Didier Reyndershas decided to make a move.
In a letter sent to the ministers Felix Bolaños y Pillar Wolf, the Belgian politician, who since taking office has insisted time and again that the renewal of the CGPJ was a priority for the Commission, regrets once again the lack of progress on this issue and urges the Government to do everything it can. possible, after the elections, to unblock something that in recent years has been the black spot in reports on the rule of law in Spain. But then he gets into the hottest topic in Spanish politics, and not by chance while Santos Cerdan and his team negotiate with Carles Puigdemont and Junts a few hundred meters away.
In addition to the pending issues, says the letter to which you have had access THE WORLD, “serious concerns are now being added in relation to the ongoing debates on the possible approval of an amnesty law. Although at the moment there is no formal proposal, it has become an issue of considerable importance in public debate and “The Commission has received many queries about this, including from a large number of citizens,” states the text, the first official request on the matter. “I would therefore be grateful if you could provide me with more detailed information, in particular on the personal, material and temporal scope of this planned law.”
In Moncloa they took note immediately. Regarding the CGPJ, they urged Reynders to write to the PP and attached a list of what they consider to be Feijóo’s “28 excuses” to prevent the renewal. And regarding the amnesty, in the letter signed by Félix Bolaños, they postpone the information until the bill is presented in Parliament. They also point out that he addresses the Government when “it is in office” and “according to the Constitution” it cannot send bills. At this time, the Ministry of the Presidency responds, it is a matter that would depend on the parliamentary groups and the Cortes. “If a bill is registered, rest assured that we will explain it to you (…) with all the details (…) as well as the Government’s position,” they conclude in a note where they reproach Reynders for having known your request through the media. In the PSOE, furthermore, they see it as a maneuver by a conservative politician and understand that it will not prevent the pact.
Reynders’ letter is not a censure, it does not prejudge an opinion, but it is a very clear warning. The Commission is aware that if the legal text of the amnesty is solid, and leaves out community funds, the Commission’s margin of action is or will be very limited. But in this phase they have a basis to ask the situation and apply pressure, as they have done on many other occasions.