Montero denies that Brussels disavows them by proposing to toughen the penalties for embezzlement but sees the proposal as logical

He maintains that the latest government reform is "in tune" with what is proposed by the EU

MADRID, 4 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Minister of Finance and Deputy Secretary General of the PSOE, María Jesús Montero, has rejected that the approach of the European Commission to set a maximum sentence of at least 5 years for crimes of embezzlement in all EU countries implies a disavowal of the recent reform of the Spanish Government that left some lower sentences, although it has described the proposal as "logical".

"No, not at all", Montero assured this Thursday when he was asked if the European Commission's proposal is a disavowal, before affirming that the government's reform makes it possible for Spain to attend this debate "in better conditions" and " regardless of the duration of the sentences".

In the minister's opinion, it is "very important that the structure scheme of how crimes are considered be similar, be homologated", for which she has stressed that the modification of the Penal Code that the Government of Pedro Sánchez has made with the embezzlement "advanced in a consensual manner" in this sense to match the rest of the European countries, he has maintained.

"They are working drafts, now the debate begins. We are working and we have to contribute our vision and also listen to what is happening in other environments. Therefore, we are in adequate conditions to be able to address it in the best possible guarantees", he expressed in a interview in RNE, collected by Europa Press.

SPAIN GOES WITH ITS HOMEWORK DONE

Thus, Montero has indicated that the Spanish Government is presenting itself to this European debate "with its homework done", given that a new type of illicit enrichment has been incorporated into the Penal Code that differentiates between the profit motive and those that do not have it, what is "in tune" with what the European Union marks, has added.

He has indicated that they "ambitise" that crimes related to corruption have a "similar treatment" in all community countries, so that it is easier to control fraud across borders, in such a way that no one goes unpunished for a use inadequate taxation of citizens, he said.

Brussels specifically proposes that the offenses related to embezzlement, influence peddling and bribery be punished with prison terms of a maximum duration of at least 5 years, a floor for the maximum penalty for each crime that in the case of Spain would mean toughening the two attenuated types created with the last penal reform.