Aquí Europa
The European Commission is “reflecting” on the proposal to “facilitate” an agreement between the PSOE and the PP that will allow the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) to be unblocked, as proposed by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
“We are currently reflecting on the request,” said the community spokesperson for Justice, Christian Wigand. The Executive has received a request from the Spanish authorities to “facilitate discussions to move forward with the reform of the Council of the Judiciary,” the spokesperson said.
In any case, he recalls, Brussels’ position regarding the blockade in the body of judges has not changed compared to that expressed in the recommendations included in the annual report on the rule of law in EU countries.
“It is important that the issue of the lack of appointments of CGPJ members be addressed as a matter of priority,” recalls Wigand. And also that, “immediately after the renewal”, the process of reforming the system for appointing members “in line with European standards” will begin to ensure that judicial independence is not compromised.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo agreed with Pedro Sánchez, in the last meeting held last Friday the 22nd, that the European Commission “supervise the negotiations and the agreement to renew the CGPJ with independent profiles and change the law that regulates the system of election of the members of the governing body of judges.”
The PP, Feijóo’s party, defends that European mediation is different from that which takes place between the Government and the Catalan separatists, ensuring that “the European Commission is a Spanish institution, given that the EU is the depositary of national sovereignty.” From the Moncloa, the minister spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, celebrated the implementation of “a formula” for “the Commission to mediate and verify.”
There have been continuous references to the need to renew the CGPJ and several attempts by the justice commissioner, Didier Reynders, to become a mediator between the Popular Party and the PSOE during one of his visits to Spain. The Popular Party wants the Commissioner of Justice as a mediator, while the PSOE prefers the Vice President of the European Commission, Vera Jourová.
