<h6><strong>Ane Barcos</strong></h6> <h4><strong>A debate in the European Parliament on the independence of the Spanish Prosecutor's Office led this Wednesday to an exchange of accusations between Spanish MEPs. The PSOE and PP criticized each other for corruption, while demanding that Pedro Sánchez assume responsibility. The Socialists defended the democratic quality of the Spanish system and denounced a partisan offensive. From the left, the two-party system was pointed to as the source of a structural corruption problem.</strong></h4> The European Parliament hosted a debate on Tuesday entitled "Safeguarding the rule of law in Spain, guaranteeing an independent and autonomous Prosecutor's Office to fight crime and corruption." What was initially presented as a technical exchange on institutional guarantees ended up turning into a political confrontation between the Spanish parties, peppered with accusations about corruption, judicial independence, and democratic legitimacy. The debate began with a speech by the European Commissioner for Justice, Democracy, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, who noted that the European Union is taking "an increasingly proactive approach to upholding the rule of law." In this regard, he explained that the Commission's annual report on the rule of law analyzes the situation in all 27 Member States, and that the case of Spain is under special scrutiny. McGrath noted that the Commission is closely monitoring the judicial reform currently underway in Spain, particularly the draft law on judicial careers. In this regard, he explained that recommendations have already been submitted to the Spanish authorities aimed at strengthening the position of the Attorney General. In his opinion, "some progress has been made" on issues such as the duration of investigations and the fight against corruption. He also recalled that the EU executive is working on the 2025 rule of law report, expected to be published in July, and that it will "assess the latest developments" on the institutional situation in Spain. He also emphasized that "the organization of prosecutorial services varies greatly across the European Union," suggesting that there is no single model applicable to all Member States. He urged caution when assessing ongoing national reforms. <h5><strong>The European People's Party demands Sánchez's resignation</strong></h5> Representatives of the European People's Party (EPP) directly attacked Preident of the Government Pedro Sánchez, accusing him of having seriously deteriorated the rule of law in Spain. "The problem is serious: corruption and abuse of power are undermining Spanish institutions," denounced Swedish MEP Tomas Tobé, vice-president of the EPP, who warned that "we can no longer remain silent." According to Tobé, corruption affects "the prime minister, his family, and his government" and extends to "police management bodies, judges, and prosecutors." In his speech, he demanded accountability: "The Spanish people deserve more than empty apologies. In a democracy, no one is above the law. Mr. Sánchez, the party's over." In an even more forceful tone, Dolors Montserrat, a member of the PP MEP and also vice-president of the EPP, accused the Spanish president of being “the first and last leader of a corrupt organization” and denounced that he “rigged internal elections, while his deputy distributed contracts and European funds in exchange for millions in commissions.” Montserrat called these events “the biggest political scandal this Parliament has ever seen” and demanded: “In any European democracy, this would be paid for with resignation and elections. Stop whitewashing this unprincipled coward.” <h5><strong>The PSOE defends the system and accuses the PP of hypocrisy</strong></h5> The Socialist faction defended Spain's democratic quality and accused the Popular Party of using the European Parliament as a platform for a campaign of political attrition. “Spain is a full democracy, recognized among the most advanced in the world, with a consolidated rule of law,” affirmed Javier Moreno, a PSOE MEP. He denounced the debate as a "maneuver driven by the opposition," which, he asserted, has been "on ice for seven years" and is now resorting to the "anything goes" approach with the aim of "distracting attention and protecting its own." Moreno added that "the school of corruption belongs to the PP and its far-right partners," and recalled that the PP is "the only party convicted of corruption in Spain." "The difference lies in how corruption is dealt with," he argued. "You destroy evidence and protect convicted individuals; we practice zero tolerance." Juan Fernando López Aguilar, also a Socialist MEP, reinforced this argument by listing the PP's judicial cases: "They have among their ranks three ministers from Aznar's government who have been sentenced to prison, and another awaiting trial. In a year, there will be another 30 cases with 150 PP defendants." <h5><strong>Vox accuses the PP of making deals with the PSOE in Brussels</strong></h5> From the Patriots for Europe group, Vox MEPs further escalated their accusations. Jorge Buxadé stated that "in Spain there is no government, there is a criminal organization led by Pedro Sánchez, the leader of that mafia." He warned that "the worst is yet to come" and predicted that the investigations could "lead us to the Venezuela of drug trafficking and oil." According to Buxadé, this situation would not be possible "without the pacts in Brussels" between the PP and PSOE. For his part, Hermann Tertsch, also from Vox, criticized the PP for voting with the Socialists "even to harass Hungary in another report on the rule of law." He added that Sánchez's entourage constitutes "a mafia that has hijacked the Prosecutor's Office, the State Attorney's Office, and has corrupted the media, judges, and prosecutors." <h5><strong>ECR: “This is not about reforms, but about institutional demolition”</strong></h5> From the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, criticism focused on the alleged concentration of power in the executive branch. Diego Solier, a former MEP for the The Party's Over party, warned that “when powers are stripped from judges and given to prosecutors controlled by an Attorney General handpicked by the Prime Minister, we're not talking about reforms, we're talking about institutional demolition.” He listed bodies such as the Constitutional Court, the General Council of the Judiciary, and the National Criminal Investigation Unit (CNI) as victims of this alleged authoritarian drift. Nora Junco, also from ECR, expressed her “deep sorrow” at seeing how “Spain is being plundered by its own government.” She denounced that “Sánchez has tried to manipulate the justice system, discredit the Civil Guard, and trample on judicial independence,” and called for his resignation “out of decency and respect for democracy.” <h5><strong>Renew Calls for Implementation of European Recommendations on the Prosecutor's Office</strong></h5> In a more moderate intervention, PNV MEP Oihane Agirregoitia, a member of the Renew Europe group, lamented the tone of the debate and called for a focus on the Commission's recommendations. "Honestly, we do not identify with the interventions of these days. Allow me to doubt the real interest behind this debate," she stated. She recalled that the European Commission has already issued recommendations on the Statute of the Prosecutor General, such as "temporarily separating the mandates of the Attorney General from the State and the Government to ensure compliance with European standards and their autonomy." Agirregoitia called for these recommendations to be implemented "to eliminate any partisan doubt in the fight against crime and corruption." <h5><strong>Greens/ALE and Left: “The two-party system has turned corruption into a structure”</strong></h5> From the Greens/ALE group, Diana Riba i Giner (ERC) criticized both the PP and the PSOE, accusing them of turning corruption into a “partisan battle” without proposing real solutions. “There is a deep-seated problem of separation of powers, but citizens must be hallucinating seeing how the PP and PSOE are throwing corruption at each other. Corruption is structural. End it, no matter who falls,” she asked. Along the same lines, Jaume Asens (Sumar) ironically stated that “the PP coming to talk about corruption is like Netanyahu talking about pacifism. They could build a prison with just their defendants.” From the Left group, Isa Serra (Podemos) lamented that “the PSOE and the PP seem to be competing to see who steals the most.” According to Serra, both parties govern "for big business," and those who fight for full democracy "are persecuted with dirty judicial warfare."
