Debate: Protecting the Rule of Law against impunity in Spain
Date: WEDNESDAY, 18 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Didier Reynders
Language: FR

S’agissant plus particulièrement de la situation en Espagne, je voudrais réitérer que nous apprécions la volonté des autorités espagnoles d’avoir un dialogue avec la Commission sur les réformes à mener. Je souhaite toutefois insister sur l’importance de mener à bien toutes les réformes nécessaires en matière d’indépendance et d’efficacité de la justice, de lutte contre la corruption, de liberté des médias et d’équilibre des pouvoirs, et de les mettre en œuvre concrètement. À cet égard, la Commission, je le rappelle, a émis plusieurs recommandations aux autorités espagnoles dans son rapport sur l’état de droit de juillet dernier. Je voudrais revenir sur quelques éléments du débat.  As regards the Council for the Judiciary, both its renewal and its reform are essential. This is what the Commission highlights in the Rule of Law Report, and this is part of our recommendation to Spain. The Commission also emphasises that the reforms should be initiated immediately after the Council is renewed. What is important is to ensure that the Council for the Judiciary is not perceived as vulnerable to politicisation. Moreover, the Rule of Law Report also highlights that, according to recent studies by the Spanish Supreme Court, the lack of renewal of the Council is already having an impact on the efficiency of justice. We acknowledge that the discussions are very complex, and the Commission has taken into account the complexity while drafting its recommendation. We regret that the negotiations to renew the Council were suspended again in October 2022, and we continue to call on all parties involved to take the necessary actions for the successful implementation of our recommendation.  While associations of judges are involved in the proposal of potential candidates to the Council of the Judiciary, the last word for the moment in the appointment of its judge-members lies with Parliament, which still has a lot of discretion to decide. What is important is to ensure that the Council for the Judiciary is not perceived as vulnerable again to politicisation. European standards, such as GRECO recommendations, provide that political authorities, such as the Parliament or the Executive, should not be involved at any stage in the selection process of judge-members of the Judicial Council.  Concerning the reform of the Criminal Code, the Commission is aware – as I mentioned in my first remarks – of the reform of the provision on the crime of embezzlement in the Spanish Criminal Code. As I said, we are currently analysing the new Spanish provisions on embezzlement, including the lowering of penalty levels for such offences, in order to assess their compliance with EU law. It is very important to continue to protect the financial interests of the Union by such analysis of the compliance with the EU law.  The Commission is also aware of the reform of the provisions on the crime of sedition in the Spanish Criminal Code. However, as with most criminal offences, the crime of sedition falls exclusively within the competence of the Member States, which means that Member States remain free to adopt or amend legislation in this field as they deem appropriate, as long as they respect their international and constitutional obligations. Et comme je l’ai dit, Madame la Présidente, Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, tout à l’heure, en conclusion, je voudrais rappeler que nous allons évidemment continuer à suivre la situation de l’état de droit en Espagne, comme dans tous les États membres, en particulier dans le cadre de l’élaboration du rapport 2023. Et dans ce rapport, nous aurons à évaluer la mise en œuvre des recommandations du rapport de juillet dernier et en particulier, bien entendu, la recommandation que nous avons formulée en insistant sur son urgence, je pense au renouvellement du Conseil supérieur de la justice. Je vous remercie en tout cas pour ces échanges et je reste à votre disposition, non seulement, comme je l’ai dit, dans le débat concernant l’Espagne, mais aussi dans le débat sur l’état de droit dans chacun des États membres de l’Union européenne.