Tuesday

28th Nov 2023

Spain's Sánchez secures Catalan support to become PM

Listen to article

Spain's Pedro Sánchez has reached agreement with the Catalan pro-independence party Junts on an Amnesty Law, in exchange for support for Sánchez's re-election as the country's socialist prime minister.

The law is expected to be unveiled next week. An investiture vote could take place next week on Wednesday or Thursday.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • 'Freedom for political imprisoned' banner at a 2018 protest in Barcelona against the detention of Carles Puigdemont (Photo: Assemblea.cat)

"We are ready to open a new historical stage, in which a political and negotiated solution is sought based on respect and recognition of the other," Sánchez's PSOE party negotiator Santos Cerdán told a press conference.

Sánchez had until 27 November to secure enough parliamentary support to form a government, but the PSOE leader was in a hurry to call the vote early.

His initial plans were for the investiture vote to take place this Thursday (9 November), allowing Sánchez to attend the pan-European Socialists & Democrats congress in Málaga as prime minister-elect.

Following Spain's general election in July, Sánchez was unable to secure a majority. With the support of some small regional parties since secured, Sánchez's fate has since been mainly in the hands of Carles Puigdemont's Junts party.

Their agreement comes after months of intense negotiations between Sánchez's PSOE and Junts' team, which have intensified during the last weeks in Brussels — the residence of self-exiled Junts leader and current MEP Puigdemont since 2017.

One of the most controversial points of the amnesty bill was the inclusion of 'lawfare' cases. This would mean that the law would also cover Catalan pro-independence leaders who have been prosecuted by the justice system for political reasons, but not directly related to the illegal 2017 referendum.

Puigdemont was cautious, admitting that there was neither "optimism" nor "trust" in the agreement between the two parties.

"We don't trust words and promises. And I am sure the other side feels the same way and will not trust us. Let's hope that one day this will not be the case," he told journalists at a press conference in Brussels, where he explained that they will seek a referendum on self-determination for the people of Catalonia.

The Catalan leader also stressed the role of an international and independent intermediary to supervise the negotiation process.

The agreement announced on Thursday also marks the anniversary of the non-binding Catalan self-determination referendum, held on 9 November 2014.

Rule-of-law concerns

The controversial amnesty law, which would drop judicial action against those connected to the pro-independence movement, was one of Puigdemont's main conditions.

But the bill has raised concerns within the judiciary in Spain as well as in Brussels.

Earlier this week, conservative judges of the General Council of the Judiciary warned that the amnesty law could see a "degradation, if not abolition, of the rule of law in Spain".

And on Wednesday, EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders wrote to the government in Madrid for more details about the "personal, material and temporal scope" of the law.

The delay in the renewal of the National Council for the Judiciary (CGPJ), the body that ensures the independence of courts and appoints some magistrates, raises "serious concerns" related to the rule of law, Reynders also said in his letter.

In response to the commissioner, Spain's EU presidency minister and senior PSOE official Felix Bolaños replied the issues mentioned in it were not "within the government's decision-making scope".

In an ironic tone, Bolaños "thanked" the commissioner for "his interest" and assured him that if the amnesty bill was passed, the commission would have "all the details".

The amnesty law has been met with opposition from Spanish liberal and centre-right MEPs, who have criticised the deal for undermining the judiciary system in Spain.

Fidesz Hungarian MEP Balázs Hidvéghi claimed that the rule of law is now in danger in Spain.

Amnesty for who?

The agreement between Junts and PSOE took an extra week of negotiations because the separatists feared that the law would not be sufficiently binding.

Junts worried that the text would not cover all of Puigdemont's close circle, or that there would be loopholes for judges' discretion in the future.

The agreement came after large protests in Spain against the amnesty law. Thousands of demonstrators, mostly conservatives and from the far-right, have taken to the streets of Madrid in recent days to protest against the amnesty law.

The protests have mainly been outside the Madrid headquarters of the Sanchez' socialist party, where protesters have chanted and raised banners.

Meanwhile, the centre-right conservative Partido Popular has begun the process to delay as much as possible the approval of the amnesty law, which will have to be given the greenlight by the Congress (lower house) — where there is a majority in favour of the bill, under the new agreement between the PSOE and Junts.

Also on Thursday, the former vice-president of the European Parliament, former head of Spain's People's Party in Catalonia and founder of the far-right party Vox, Alejo Vidal Cuadras, was shot in the face in Madrid.

This article has been updated

Sanchez's 'amnesty' talks with Catalan separatists to stay PM

Spain's socialist party wants to avoid new elections and is rushing to form a governing coalition for incumbent prime minister Pedro Sánchez before the Socialists' European congress on 10-11 November. But an 'amnesty' for Catalan political separatists is a sticking-point.

EU backs Israel-Palestine peace summit, Spain solo on ceasefire

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez proposed an international peace summit in six months to address the Palestine-Israel conflict. However, Madrid's attempt to include a humanitarian "ceasefire" reference in the Brussels summit's conclusions failed.

Analysis

Why Spain's amnesty deal with Catalans is source of resentment

Spain's new amnesty law for Catalan separatists has sparked protests across the country, fueling concerns about the rule of law, judicial independence, and accountability. But why is the bill so problematic? And who opposes it?

Spain's amnesty law draws boos at Strasbourg debate

The debate between MEPs in Strasbourg on Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez's controversial amnesty bill for Catalan separatists — attended by Carles Puigdemont himself — saw shouts, boos, applause, and even laughter.

Column

How centre-right conservatives capitulate to the far-right

Many conservatives in Europe seem to have forgotten the lesson of 1930s Germany. They sacrifice their principles on the altar of the polls and all-too-often try to overtake rightwing radicals on their own pet subjects like security or migration.

Opinion

My experience trying to negotiate with Uber

After working with people in unusual employment situations for a decade, I thought I had seen it all as a union organiser. Then I began dealing with Uber.

Latest News

  1. People-smuggling profits at historic high, EU concedes
  2. EU bets big on fossil hydrogen and carbon storage
  3. How centre-right conservatives capitulate to the far-right
  4. My experience trying to negotiate with Uber
  5. Key battlegrounds in EU's new media legislation
  6. EU 'shocked' by Israel's war-time settler surge
  7. Platform workers could face 'robo-firing' under EU's AI rules
  8. Wilders faces tough road to power, despite election triumph

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  2. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  4. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  5. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  2. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  4. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  5. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  6. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us