The controversial Spanish law granting amnesty to people involved in Catalonia’s 2017 separatist referendum does not violate EU rules, the EU’s top court ruled on Thursday.
The decision is a boost for both the pardoned Catalan politicians and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, for whom the deal was necessary to retain power after 2023 elections.
What decision did the Court of Justice of the European Union give?
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) agreed with the Spanish government’s long-standing position that amnesty can be reconciled with EU laws on the scope and limits of a member state’s powers when granting political amnesty.
“The Court finds that the Spanish amnesty law concerns an area that falls within the competence of the Member States,” CJEU Judge Koen Lennaerts said. In other words, this was not a decision where Spain had to defer at the behest of EU officials in Brussels.
The Constitutional Court of Spain also supported this law.
“[The court] One of the judges of the CJEU, in delivering the ruling, said it “does not oppose a law that provides for the abolition of criminal liability in order to reduce institutional and political tensions and facilitate the process of reconciliation.”
Why was the apology controversial?
The move, which took Spain’s parliament approval in 2024, faces major opposition opposition following elections in 2023.
This is mainly because the agreement enabled Sánchez to remain in power in a minority government with the support of parties including Catalan and Basque nationalist groups.
The conservative People’s Party (PP), which is the largest single party in the Spanish Parliament but leads only the opposition, had argued that authorities in Madrid were not justified in condoning what they considered a terroristic attempt at treason by peaceful political means.
Spain’s Justice Minister Félix Bolaños said there could now be “no doubt” that the pardon was in line with EU law.
In a televised statement on Thursday he said that despite the amnesty being “strongly” rejected by parts of the population at the time, “it is worth it.”
Having seen the impact of amnesty in helping to normalize the political situation in Catalonia, Bolaños said, “Nobody, even its staunchest critics, would want to give up its benefits.”
What happened in the Catalonia independence movement in 2017?
The regional government in the wealthy northeastern region of Catalonia, which has Barcelona as its capital and a long-standing independence movement, defied authorities in Madrid and held a referendum on independence from Spain in 2017.
Voting took place across most of the region on 1 October, despite being declared illegal by Spain’s Constitutional Court and police efforts to detain regional politicians and materials such as ballots and ballot boxes.
Opponents of the proposal declared the referendum illegitimate and urged its supporters to boycott the vote.
92% of those who voted called for secession – but only 43% of eligible Catalonia residents participated.
Amnesty pardoned people found guilty of “terrorist” acts related to the secession movement, provided those acts were non-violent and did not otherwise violate people’s human rights.
Could this decision, and the second one just announced, lead to the comeback of Carles Puigdemont?
The leader of the Catalan government at the time, Carles Puigdemont, still does not live in Spain, despite amnesty for other Catalan politicians.
The separatist leader is living in self-exile in Belgium.
He is facing a separate batch of embezzlement charges that do not fall under amnesty. But in the coming months, Spain’s Constitutional Court is expected to rule on whether the amnesty should also apply to this case.
Another general election is due in 2027 and Puigdemont retains support in some circles in Catalonia, where polls show support for independence has waned somewhat in the years since the referendum attempt.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko
Don’t let algorithms hide news. If you rely on our team for reliable reporting, please take a moment Choose us as your favorite source on GoogleThat’s why you’ll always see our verified news first.