Spanish Justice Minister Félix Bolaños (PSOE/S&D) and Partido Popular’s Vice-Secretary for Institutional Action, Esteban González Pons, will meet again in Brussels on Monday with EU Justice Commissioner and mediator Didier Reynders, to try to broker the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Spain’s highest judicial body, which has been operating on an interim basis for more than five years.
The second meeting between the two leaders will occur on Monday afternoon, just after the European Commission is due to publish a statement summarising the progress made so far, European Commission sources told Euractiv’s partner EFE.
After the first meeting on 31 January, Reynders was very positive about the “commitment” of both parties to progress in the stalled dialogue, which has been marked by a constant exchange of accusations between the PP and the PSOE.
The European Commission believes it is crucial to reach an agreement before the European elections next June and has set March as its preferred deadline for the final ‘white smoke’.
After the first meeting, Bolaños promised to “work hard” ahead of what he said at the time was the “last chance” to restore some “normality” to the CGPJ, the highest body of judges in Spain, whose renewal has been blocked since 2018 while the PSOE and the PP, the main opposition party, blame each other for the paralysis.
Since that year, the CGPJ has been operating on an interim basis, which has harmed the functioning of the entire judicial system, with numerous delays and problems in resolving several pending court cases.
Last January, the government thanked Reynders and the European Commission for their mediation efforts, but the PP was very pessimistic.
Nevertheless, González Pons assured that the right-wing formation kept the door open to dialogue with the PSOE.
On 26 January, the Commission agreed to take on a mediation role at the specific request of Spain’s progressive government (PSOE-Sumar) and the PP.
The two-month deadline set by Brussels for both parties to reach an agreement expires in March, leaving the door open for Reynders to start his campaign for the presidency of the Council of Europe in the same month, which will force him to leave his current post in the EU executive, at least temporarily.
(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)
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