The Diplomat
The European Commission yesterday issued a new warning to the Spanish Government to avoid politicization in the reform of the Judiciary and to respect its independence.
The person in charge of doing so, on this occasion, was the Commission’s Vice-President for Values, Vera Jourova, in response to a letter from the Ciudadanos MEP Maite Pagazaurtundua, who in October denounced the risk to the rule of law posed by the reform of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), which the coalition Executive of PSOE and Unidas Podemos wants to carry out.
In her response, to which Europa Press had access, Jourova states that Brussels has asked the Spanish authorities to ensure that the CGPJ is not perceived as “vulnerable to politicization”.
The commissioner recalls that any future reform must take into account European standards for the sake of judicial independence. And she reiterates that any reform should be done in consultation with the opposition and relevant actors, including the Venice Commission.
In addition, Jourova slips the recommendation that at least half of the members of the CGPJ should be judges elected by their own peers.
The European Commission points out that it is aware of the latest developments in Spain and indicates that it is following the case, after the Government discarded the initial proposal and has opted to limit the reform to reduce the powers of the CGPJ when it is in office.
In this regard, Brussels stresses that, in general terms, it will be in contact with the Spanish authorities to follow up on the conclusions on the rule of law indicated in last autumn’s EU report, which urged the renewal of the CGPJ and asked that, in any case, it should not be seen as vulnerable to politicization.
“You may rest assured that the Commission remains committed to upholding the rule of law and judicial independence in all member states and will monitor the situation closely,” the Czech commissioner’s letter concludes.
Jourova’s written response coincides with the videoconference she held with the president of Ciudadanos, Inés Arrimadas, on this same subject on Monday. Community sources assure Europa Press that the vice-president listened attentively to Ciudadanos’ requests and stressed that the Commission is closely monitoring the nomination of the members of the CGPJ, something that was already mentioned in the Community report on the rule of law, in its chapter on Spain.
Warnings from Brussels
Since Sánchez announced months ago his intention to reform the CGPJ to appoint its members without counting on the PP, the European Executive has closely followed the issue and has launched several warnings, pointing out that any judicial reform must be agreed with the relevant political actors and the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body for legal and constitutional matters.
More recently, the latest initiative to limit changes to the acting powers of the CGPJ has also been responded to by the European government, which has insisted to Spain that any new reform must be consulted with the opposition.
Following the first proposal presented by the PSOE and Podemos last October, the Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, spoke first with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, and, already in November, with the Minister of Justice, Juan Carlos Campo, to request detailed information on the situation.
