Brussels reminds the Government and the PP that renewing the Judiciary is “Spain's responsibility”

Brussels still does not have a response to the Spanish request to mediate or supervise the negotiation between the PSOE and the PP to renew the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), pending for more than five years. Although the European Commission has been the first to insistently demand the renewal of the governing body of the judges, it remembers that this is, above all, the “responsibility” of Spain, and emphasizes that asking the European institution to assume a role of mediation, which the PP has even asked the Justice Commissioner himself, Didier Reynders, to do, does not fall within his usual responsibilities. Therefore, a spokesperson said this Monday, more time is needed to provide a response that, whatever it may be, will allow “the process to advance.”

“Let us not forget that this is the responsibility of the Spanish authorities, not of the European Commission,” stressed the chief spokesperson for the Community Executive, Eric Mamer, in the institution's first press conference of 2024. Mamer recalled that the request came “just before Christmas”—on December 23—and for an issue, such as mediation, that “is not normally the responsibility” of the European Executive. For this reason, he has indicated, “it is not very reasonable” to expect Brussels to respond immediately.

“Give us some time. “We want to make sure that the way we respond helps move the process forward, is useful, and therefore contributes to resolving this issue,” she explained.

Although the Government of Pedro Sánchez has indicated that it will only resume talks with the PP when the Commission rules on its role in the negotiation, in Brussels there is reluctance to set a date for this response which, according to community sources, could even take a few weeks. . According to community sources, there have already been some contacts with various Spanish officials and, also, conversations within the Commission between those in charge of the issue, but the request is still being “examined”, it is limited to highlighting the official response, without giving more details. The secrecy is even more absolute regarding the possibility that Reynders himself will assume this role, if in the end the Commission accepts the task.

Brussels has been insisting for years on the need for Spain to renew the CGPJ, something it demands every year in the Spanish chapter of its report on the rule of law in the 27 member countries. The European Executive has always indicated, and has reiterated this Monday, that its “position” is that the composition of the CGPJ is first renewed with the current law and, “immediately after the renewal, a process to reform the system begins.” of appointments in accordance with European standards, in order to guarantee that judicial independence is not compromised.” At the beginning of December, Reynders urged compliance with this procedure—renewal first, change of the law later—although he declared himself open to other options if these resulted from an agreement between the PP and the PSOE.

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