PSOE and PP reach an agreement in Brussels for the renewal of the Judiciary after five years of blockade

Ane Barcos/Aquí Europa "Although it may seem like a lie, good news still exists, hope too, and Spanish politicians are still capable of doing things like this." With these words, the Deputy Secretary of Institutional Affairs of the PP, Esteban González Pons, announced yesterday the agreement between the two main parties to appoint the members of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ). After three failed attempts at negotiations to unblock the CGPJ, the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, and González Pons traveled to Brussels this Tuesday. There they met with the Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourová, who for the first time acted as a mediator, taking over from the Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders. The agreement, which responds to the recommendations of the European Commission in its Report on the Rule of Law relating to Spain for 2022 and 2023, contemplates the immediate renewal of the CGPJ. Jourová congratulated the negotiators, stating that the agreement will improve the situation of the judiciary in Spain. She stressed that “the rule of law is too important for it to fall into partisan interests.” The agreement establishes the joint appointment of CGPJ members by the two main parliamentary groups, PP and PSOE, ensuring balanced and professional representation, without politicians or former politicians. Of the 20 members, 16 come from the judicial or prosecutorial career, also including a lawyer from the Supreme Court, a lawyer from the Cortes Generales (Spanish Parliament), a lawyer from the Constitutional Court and a former president of the Autonomous Consultative Legal Council. Relevant decisions of the new council will require a three-fifths majority, promoting consensus and avoiding single-party impositions. Likewise, measures have been established to depoliticize the CGPJ, eliminating the "revolving doors" between politics and the judiciary. This includes a two-year period for any judge returning from political office, during which they will not be able to issue rulings with political content. The State Attorney General will have similar restrictions, not being able to act in cases that affect him personally or professionally and needing to be out of politics for five years before assuming office. The new CGPJ will have a period of six months to send a reform project that allows the direct participation of judges in the election of their representatives on the council, thus complying with the recommendations of the Rule of Law Report of the European Commission and strengthening judicial independence in Spain.

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