Brussels examines whether the embezzlement reform violates the protection of European funds required by the EU

He considers that Spain is "free" to repeal sedition and reiterates the urgency of unblocking the CGPJ

BRUSSELS, 18 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The European Commission is "analyzing" the reform of the Penal Code in Spain to assess whether the changes that affect the crime of embezzlement do not stray from the rules of the European Union, especially with regard to the protection of European funds. , as reported this Wednesday by the Justice Commissioner, Didier Reynders.

"The reform introduces changes to various offences, including embezzlement. The Commission is currently analyzing these new provisions to verify the conformity of the reform with EU law, especially as regards the protection of financial interests of the EU", Reynders detailed during a debate in the plenary session of the European Parliament on the situation of the rule of law in Spain.

However, regarding the repeal of sedition, the community politician has warned that Spain is "free" to introduce any change in this regard because it is an "exclusive competence" of the Member States, provided that they respect their international obligations and constitutional.

Reynders has also referred to the agreement to renew the Constitutional Court to consider that the four new appointments are "important" since they were pending since last June and because the proper functioning of the constitutional bodies is an "essential element of the rule of law ".

The commissioner said that the Community Executive is aware that the Constitutional Court suspended the vote in the Senate on the proposal to modify the system for appointing the members of the Court and added that, in any case, Brussels will continue to monitor any evolution on the rule of law to include its analysis in the annual report to be published in the middle of the year.

The debate in the plenary session of the European Parliament takes place after the European People's Party forced its inclusion in the agenda of this plenary session, as a topical debate whose issue corresponded in turn to fix the 'popular', since in the In the November and December sessions, the European Parliament voted to reject including a discussion on Spain on its agenda.

The European head of Justice has taken advantage of his speech to insist on the urgency with which the Community Executive observes the blockade in the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and for which he requests that it be renewed "urgently" and, "immediately afterwards", the process of reforming the system for choosing its members to adapt it to European standards begins.

"We continue to call on all the parties involved to take the necessary actions for the successful implementation of this recommendation," Reynders stressed, referring to the conclusions contained in the latest edition of the report on the rule of law in Spain published in July of last year. year.

In this context, he regretted that the Government and the opposition put negotiations to resolve this crisis on hold last autumn and stressed that European standards advocate that the election of members rest with their peers, so that "neither Parliament nor the Executive should not be involved in any phase" of the selection process.

The report then pointed out other issues of concern for the Commission that Reynders has reviewed again on this occasion, such as the fact that the mandates of the Attorney General and the Government coincide in their terms and the recommendation from Brussels that the statute of the prosecutor be "reinforced" to avoid that match.

The commissioner has also pointed out the ballast in the fight against corruption that means that the investigations and processes against "high-level" corruption continue to be "complex and long".

It also included improvements in the Spanish judicial system, although it regretted that the deadlines for the processes continue to be a problem that requires improvements in the organizational, procedural and digital efficiency of the system.

Throughout the little more than an hour that the debate held in Strasbourg (France) has lasted, some thirty MEPs of all stripes have intervened, at least half of them Spanish, with positions that follow the line set by their respective families politics in Spain.

Thus, from the European People's Party (EPP) the Government of Pedro Sánchez has been attacked for a policy that they consider a "democratic degradation, institutional deterioration and governmental irresponsibility".

The head of the PP in the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat, has thus denounced "a government that has handed over the Penal Code to those convicted of violating the Constitution, modifying it to the letter in order to make their crimes disappear", while the ' popular' Portuguese Paulo Rangel has lamented that a country that was an "example" in its transition to democracy is now worrying about judicial independence.

On behalf of the Socialists and Democrats (S

The MEP for Ciudadanos Jordi Cañas, for his part, has taken the floor on behalf of the European Liberals to criticize the "abuses of the rule of law" that in his opinion the Government commits, while his colleague Maite Pagazaurtundúa has denounced a "merry-go-round of reforms to grant total or partial impunity to the perpetrators of serious crimes".

For his part, Vox MEP Jorge Buxadé has stated that Spain is now a "space of impunity where the offender receives a reward and the victim humiliation."

On behalf of the European Greens, Ernest Urtasun (En Comú-Podem), has criticized the "disloyalty" of the PP with his country and defended the "good work" of the coalition government in the European Union, while holding the PP responsible boycott because "when they don't win the elections they decide that the normal institutional functioning and the application of the Constitution are not valid".

The MEP of United We Can and vice president of the European Left, Sira Rego, in turn, has listed cases of corruption in recent years that pointed to the PP and accused this formation of being "outside the Constitution, blocking the renewal" of the CGPJ .