The renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) will soon begin a new chapter. The European Comission received the proposal of the PP – which the President of the Government gave his approval in his December meeting with Alberto Núñez Feijóo – to supervise the negotiation of the governing body of the judges, so many times frustrated in recent years. And according to sources close to the community executive, the paper is finished, and PP and PSOE have to receive it and give the green light.
The proposal, as they explain and the two major parties also count on it, will establish a methodology with the objectives to achieve and, above all, a calendar. It is not a minor issue because in the month of June there are European elections, and neither party sees it viable for the matter to drag on ‘sine die’. On the contrary. Brussels is willing to mediate between popular and socialists to solve a problem that has already had an echo in community institutions for a long time. But the Commission also understands that it must be verified quickly. if there is real will and capacity for agreement. And that will be done through specific and scheduled deadlines.
As you may have known THE NEWSPAPER OF SPAIN, from the Prensa Ibérica group, the next movement that should be “imminent” is that PP and PSOE give their approval to the proposal. And from there, if both parties accept, work would begin. A quick schedule, in any case, is what they expect at the two headquarters.
And they also believe that it should be like this, although it is already around the corner. the first electoral appointment in Galicia. The PP has a lot at stake because it needs to revalidate the absolute majority. On other occasions, especially in the last attempt in 2022, the conversations ended up being frustrated due to the proximity of the new electoral cycle. In Genoa, in fact, they changed their strategy to toughen the tone against the Government, understanding that the renewal was incompatible with the change in the Penal Code demanded by the independentists to eliminate the crime of sedition and modify the crime of embezzlement.
The socialists avoid clarifying whether they are willing to accept the PP’s proposal to renew the CGPJ with the current system and, in parallel, agree to reform the law of the judiciary so that it is the judges who choose the majority of the members. They do say they are willing to accept the methodology proposed by the European Commission, but they understand that Brussels will not ask for a parallel reform to the hypothetical pact. However, the Government says it will prioritize any negotiation formula proposed by the Commission if, as a consequence, the Popular Party agrees to sit down to unblock the renewal.
What the PSOE shows the most doubts about is the PP’s will to unblock the governing body of the judges. “The PP does not support any institution that it does not control,” socialist sources reproached after criticism of impartiality by several Genoa leaders to the Constitutional Court. In Ferraz they distrust that this campaign will become the “umpteenth excuse” to resist agreeing the renewal of the governing body of the judges. “They do not like any renewal of the CGPJ that implies the loss of the conservative majority,” say party sources.
The great unknown is also in who will be in front of supervisory work. At an initial moment the Commissioner of Justice made a lot of noise, Didier Reynders, because he is responsible for the branch and because he is the one who has held meetings with both parties, even on specific visits to Spain. Reynders, from the family of European liberals, recently confirmed his goal of running for the general secretary of the Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg. That race would begin in the month of April and it is foreseeable that from that moment on he will not be able to exercise any powers as commissioner. The other name on the table is that of the vice president of Securities and Transparency of the Commission, Věra Jourová. It is also possible, explain community sources, who are technicians of their equipment those who are involved.
Real options?
The first objective of supervision would be to see if there really are renewal options. The PP proposed this route after verifying that the bridges were irreconcilable. The person in charge of the negotiation in Genoa, Esteban González Pons, considers that the Government “lied repeatedly” and the loss of confidence in the minister Felix Bolañosthey say, “it is very clear.”
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Taking into account that the two parties insist on seeing different readings every time the Commission makes a statement (Moncloa assures that it demands an immediate renewal of the CGPJ, while the PP focuses on the new election system that moves towards greater independence of the judges) Feijóo chose to demand that Europe be the one to supervise the conversations.
In the PP they recognize that they needed get out of the “frame” in which the negotiation was located, with the conservatives as blocking agents and suffering constant accusations of non-compliance with the Constitution. The appearance on the scene of Brussels allows them to start in a new stage and, above all, have the guarantee that Europe is in the process, even if it implies a renewal (as the Government wants) and then work on a new election system.