The PP's ploy that threatens the pro-independence parties' seats in the European Parliament

BrusselsThe PP's offensive against Pedro Sánchez's government and the pro-independence parties continues unabated, not even from the flank of the European institutions. The latest attack has been launched by the Popular Party (PP) MEP and last head of the Ciudadanos delegation in the European ParliamentAdrián Vázquez has been working for months to secure a visit from a mission of MEPs to Madrid, which finally arrived this week, to pressure for the implementation of the electoral reform for the European Parliament elections in Spain. This directive, which the Spanish Nationalist Party (PNV), EH Bildu, and the BNG (Basque Nationalist Party) have not implemented, requires that, to obtain just one seat, they must achieve at least between 2% and 5% of the vote. Currently, there is no minimum threshold, and each election depends on turnout and the Hondt law. Therefore, the application of a threshold would make it difficult for parties that only participate in certain parts of the country to enter the European Parliament. in the last electionsThe coalition of the PNV and Coalición Canaria would have been excluded, as they only obtained 1.63%. However, if the minimum representation were set at the maximum allowed by European law, 5%, the Ara Repúbliques coalition (ERC, EH Bildu, BNG, and Ara Més), which obtained 4.91%, and Junts, which remained at 2.52%, would not have any seats either. Sumar, Se Acabó la Fiesta, or Podemos would also not be included; and, therefore, only the PP, PSOE, and Vox would have MEPs.

The PP is not currently advocating any specific threshold between the 2% and 5% established by European regulations, and maintains that this should be negotiated. However, if 2%, or a slightly higher percentage, were applied, the representation of the parties that only present themselves in Catalonia, Galicia, or the Basque Country would be at risk. But the PP doesn't seem to care much; quite the opposite. In fact, in statements to ARA, Vázquez asks that "privileges stop being given to nationalist parties" and that this threshold be applied, as he "only wants to avoid political fragmentation." And, if they don't reach this minimum percentage of votes across the country, the former Ciudadanos leader invites them to form "more coalitions" among themselves to surpass the threshold. However, Vázquez doesn't hold much hope that the Spanish government will eventually agree to implement the reform. "The problem is that Sánchez is a hostage to the nationalists," he says.

On the other hand, Socialist MEP Juan Fernando López Aguilar, who was also part of the mission that traveled to Madrid this week, is up in arms about the PP's intentions. "That would mean ending the democratic plurality of Spain," says the former Minister of Justice in a conversation with this newspaper. In this regard, he points out that the Loreg (the Organic Law of the General Electoral System) would need to be reformed and, therefore, calls for the involvement of the PP; but he regrets that the right "is only interested in attacking Sánchez" and criticizes the PP's attempt to modify it "behind the backs of the nationalist parties." "We have never done that, because it would undermine the legitimacy of the elections and leave many citizens without representation," adds the professor of constitutional law.

Along the same lines, MEP Diana Riba (ERC) accuses the PP of "looking for political problems where there are none" and asserts that in the EU "there is no such urgency." Furthermore, the sole Republican representative in the European Parliament suggests that European electoral reform could be applied and modify Spain's status as a single constituency, and suggests, for example, that there could be many more constituencies, as in the Congressional elections, which are by province. In fact, Spain is the only major EU member state, along with Germany, that only has one constituency in the European elections.

As for Junts, one of the Catalan parties affected, it has declined to comment on the matter in this newspaper, nor on whether it would consider running jointly with other parties. It should be noted that Convergència i Unió (CiU) had previously run in the European elections in coalition with the PNV and the BNG.