The amnesty granted by the Spanish Government to Catalan independentists to secure Pedro Sánchez’s investiture is becoming complicated in the European Union. The European Commission is challenging it before the Court of Justice of the European Union and recommends that the court rule against the government’s position on most points raised by the preliminary question submitted by the Court of Auditors. According to a 36-page document reported by El Español, the European Commission’s legal services present highly critical observations about the government’s law.
“On the one hand, it does not appear that the LOA [Organic Law 1/2024, of June 10, on amnesty for institutional, political, and social normalization in Catalonia] effectively responds to an objective of general interest recognized by the Union. To begin with, the LOA appears to constitute a self-amnesty, for two reasons. Firstly, because the votes of its beneficiaries were fundamental for its approval in the Spanish parliament. Secondly, because the bill is part of a political agreement to achieve the investiture of the Government of Spain. Well, if there is support to consider that self-amnesty, in which those holding political power seek to shield themselves by guaranteeing their legal immunity, are contrary to the principle of the Rule of Law, it seems that the same criterion should apply when the government guarantees the impunity of its partners in exchange for parliamentary support,” states the pleading document dated December 9, 2024, which has now come to light as the process advances in the Luxembourg court.
Also, “another indication in the same direction is the fact that the processing of the LOA followed an urgent procedure, thus avoiding important reports from advisory bodies and without public consultation. As the Venice Commission has pointed out, the LOA has deepened a profound and virulent division in the political class, in institutions, in the judicial world, in academia, and in Spanish society. Despite this, the Spanish authorities did not heed the Venice Commission’s recommendations to take the necessary time to conduct a meaningful dialogue in a spirit of loyal cooperation between state institutions.” It considers that there are articles in the text that are “contrary to law.”
The European Commission does, however, provide some leeway to the government by not seeing it as evident that the secession attempt affected the financial interests of the EU, leaving this to the interpretation of the Spanish courts.
