Subscribe here: [ Ссылка ] Emotions ran high in the Strasbourg hemicycle on Wednesday as EU lawmakers clashed over Spain’s controversial amnesty law, part of a political deal with Catalan separatists to make Pedro Sánchez prime minister.
The debate, convened by the right-leaning European People Party (EPP) saw right-wing lawmakers accuse allies of Sánchez, a socialist, of sacrificing the rule of law for political gains while socialist MEPs defended the amnesty bill as a key step in Spain's reconciliation with Catalan separatists.
Earlier this month, Catalan separatist party Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) - led by the exiled Carles Puigdemont, also a member of the European Parliament - offered seven of its votes in the Spanish parliament to back a Sánchez-led government in exchange for a controversial amnesty for Catalan politicians and activists who participated in a failed attempt at secession from Spain in 2017.
The law has sparked outrage among the Spanish opposition, who accuse Sánchez of cosying up to separatists and flouting the rule of law. Fierce protests have taken place in Spain's capital Madrid for the past twenty days.
Speaking to Euronews ahead of the debate, EPP president Manfred Weber said Sánchez had put his “personal egoism” in front of national interests by signing a “legally unthinkable” text.
Weber claimed people in Spain are "no longer equal before the law," and accused Sánchez of allowing "corruption, violence and terrorism" to go unpunished.
"The socialists and the left have lost all credibility to defend the rule of law in Europe," he added.
Close Sánchez ally Iratxe García, president of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, accused Weber of lying by claiming crimes of terrorism would be absolved under the plans, citing Article 2c of the draft amnesty bill which explicitly says acts of terrorism would be excluded from the law's application.
The law could however exonerate an unconfirmed number of crimes including embezzlement, disobedience and maladministration.
"Mr Weber, lying is not ok, and you have lied," she said to the jeers of the conservatives. "There is no greater attack on the rule of law than your alliance with the extreme right."
"The main problem of the Partido Popular (PP) and Vox," she went on, referring to the main political forces on the Spanish right, "is that they are incapable of understanding Spain. They cannot understand that the greatness of Spain lies in its diversity and plurality."
Sources from Spain's socialist party (PSOE) told Euronews that the right had "failed in its attempt to get the European Commission to oppose the proposed amnesty law."
Also in Strasbourg on Wednesday was the leader of Spanish far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal, who has drawn harsh criticism over recent days for encouraging protesters to disobey police orders during demonstrations.
“We hope the Spanish parliament will be asked to provide explanations and that the Commission will act with the same diligence as in the case of Poland and Hungary," he told reporters.
Lawfare under scrutiny
One of the most controversial aspects of the political deal struck between JxCat and the socialists is the reference to the concept of 'lawfare', or the strategic use of the law as an instrument to target political opponents.
JxCat's leader Carles Puigdemont wants Spain to introduce parliamentary commissions to investigate whether its courts had been unnecessarily heavy-handed in sentences made against the separatists in order to persecute pro-independence figures.
Parliament looks into the scope and impact of proposed legislation to grant amnesty to hundreds involved in Catalonia’s pro-independence movement over the last decade.
The governmental agreement in Spain following the 23 July national elections –including the amnesty law- will be the focus of a debate with representatives of the Spanish Presidency of the Council and the Commission on Wednesday afternoon. Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, who last week wrote to the Spanish Government asking for details about the planned legislation, confirmed on Wednesday that the Commission is currently analysing the draft bill.
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