Brussels taps Sánchez on the wrist for Spain's "limited" fight against corruption

BrusselsEuropean Commission's wake-up call to Spain amid a wave of corruption cases plaguing Pedro Sánchez's government. In its annual rule of law report, Brussels warns that Spain has made "little" or "limited" progress in strengthening measures against conflicts of interest and lobbying, and in improving transparency in asset declarations by leaders and senior officials. Furthermore, although it highlights the Anti-Corruption Plan promoted by the Spanish government, it regrets that "the practical implementation of existing rules has not improved".

Therefore, the European Commission urges Spain to "promote a legislative process" to strengthen the rules governing conflicts of interest and asset declarations of senior public officials, and calls for it to "continue with the ongoing procedure" to approve legislation on lobbying that includes, among other things, the obligation to have a mandatory public register of visits received by leaders and legislators.

Regarding the amnesty, the report once again avoids commenting on it – as it did last year – and limits itself to noting that the Constitutional Court supports it and includes the two rulings this Thursday from the High Court of Justice (CJEU) on the law. And, at a press conference, the European Commissioner for Justice, Michael McGrath, showed his "respect" for Luxembourg's opinion, even though the European Commission had opposed the amnesty. "We will continue to monitor developments [in its application]," added the EU leader.

More judicial independence

Brussels is once again asking the Sánchez government to push for a reform of the judicial system that decouples the mandates of the State Prosecutor General and the executive. Furthermore, the European Commission assures that the anti-corruption measures adopted in this regard are not being applied in practice and urges it to correct this in order to align with European standards on the autonomy of the prosecution service.

Along the same lines, the Community executive censures the Spanish government for criticizing the Spanish judiciary and accusing it of practicing lawfare. "Although criticism of judicial decisions is part of the democratic debate, the executive and legislative powers must avoid manifestations that undermine the independence of the judiciary or public confidence in Justice," the report points out.