The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received yesterday in Madrid the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, at the ministerial headquarters of the Palacio de Viana, as part of the round of contacts initiated the day before with members of the European Commission to prepare the Spanish Presidency of the EU, which will take place in the second half of 2023.
During the meeting, as reported by Foreign Affairs, Albares and Reynders addressed the situation of the rule of law in the EU, the future Spanish Presidency, European sanctions against Russia and the investigation of war crimes following the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The minister also met this Tuesday in Brussels with the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, and the European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis.
Reynders’ visit to Spain will conclude tomorrow and includes meetings with five members of the Executive of Pedro Sánchez: the First Vice-President and Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño; the Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop; the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños; and the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón; in addition to Albares himself.
Apart from that, today he plans to meet with the four judges’ associations, the Professional Association of the Magistracy (APM) and the Judicial Association Francisco de Vitoria (AJFV), to address the deadlock situation that the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), which has remained in office since December 2018, is going through. Precisely, hours before leaving for Spain, Reynders told the press that, in the Commission’s opinion, “ideally” the renewal of the CGPJ should be decided mostly by the judges themselves, as recommended by European standards, without waiting for a deeper reform in the selection system.
Reynder will also intervene today in the mixed commission for the European Union in the Congress of Deputies and will meet with the main groups of the parliamentary opposition, including PP and Ciudadanos. The commissioner will meet on Friday with the president of the Supreme Court and the CGPJ, Carlos Lesmes; the president of the Constitutional Court (TC), Pedro González-Trevijano; and the state attorney general, Álvaro García Ortiz.
