The political negotiations over Spanish judicial appointments have once again run into a roadblock.
The country is due to appoint new leaders for the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), the body that oversees administrative and ethical aspects of the judicial system, including appointing judges. The new appointments should have happened five years ago but are still pending. They require the approval of a super majority of the parliament, forcing Spain’s two major parties to reach an agreement. In the past, this proved less problematic, but now the highly divided political situation, the extreme policies of the socialist-led government such as an amnesty for Catalan secessionists, and the socialist government’s moves to control the courts have made it impossible for the parties to reach an agreement.
The European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, has been shaking his finger at Spain for months now, but his interventions seem to be having no effect. The European Commission has previously ordered Spain to make the new appointments to the governing body of the judges and to start “immediately afterwards” on reforming the system of appointment to the CGPJ.
The EU wants Spain to change the appointment process so that judges, not politicians, appoint the members of the CGPJ. Spain has had the current system since democracy was reinstituted following the death of dictator Francisco Franco and entered the EU with the current system in place.
The patience of the EU leadership with the judicial systems of member states again appears to be linked to the political ideology of the government in question. After ‘rule-of-law’ attacks on several conservative governments—including withholding of funds—over their justice systems, the European Commission is allowing Spain to plod along with a politically influenced judicial oversight system without serious repercussions.
Last year, the center-right Partido Popular, currently in opposition, proposed turning to the commissioner for help in the negotiations with the ruling Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE). Reynders has sat down several times with Felix Bolaños, current Minister of Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes and Esteban González Pons, the PP’s Deputy Secretary for Institutional Action, but has still failed to produce an accord.
After the last mediation meeting held in Strasbourg on March 13th, another meeting was scheduled in Madrid for March 27 but has been canceled. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Reynders, as El Debate reports, is likely to leave his post to run for president of the Council of Europe.
El Debate sources told the news site that Reynders and his team canceled their airline tickets last week after it became clear Bolaños and Pons “need more time” before meeting again. Specifically, the PP requested “to delay” the meeting, according to sources in Brussels.
Then on Monday, Reynders was officially selected as one of the candidates for Secretary General of the Council of Europe. If he accepts the candidacy, he will have to leave his post as commissioner. It remains to be seen who from within the College of Commissioners might be chosen to step into his role as mediator between Spain’s parties.
Also on Monday, PP spokesperson Borja Sémper, confirmed at a press conference that the meeting would not take place, although he did not specify why and insisted that the PP will work “to the end” to reach an agreement.
According to El Debate, in the current negotiations, the PP are eager to begin discussing the reform process in parallel with talks on appointments, while the PSOE wants to postpone discussion of changing the laws around the selection of CGPJ members.
