International Catalonia's Rebellion: 170,000 Spaniards in Madrid March Against Amnesty Plan for Catalan Secessionists

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Pardons for jailed Catalan independence leaders will be fast, limited and reversible

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is preparing to take the most delicate decision of his mandate so far, by issuing pardons for the Catalan independence leaders who were jailed for their role in the 2017 secessionist drive in the region. In contrary to what was expected, the pardons will not take place in August, a time when many Spaniards will be on vacation and not paying so much attention to the news, but in the clear light of day. The Cabinet meeting that will take the decision, one that will have a clear political cost for the government and will mark a defining moment in its current term, will take place at the end of June or early July, according to a number of sources from the government.

Nine of the defendants in the Supreme Court trial over the independence drive were found guilty of sedition, and were sentenced to between nine and 13 years in prison. These politicians and civic association leaders have now been behind bars for three-and-a-half years, including their time in pre-trial custody. The group includes Catalan Republican Left (ERC) party leader Oriol Junqueras, who was deputy premier when Catalonia held the outlawed independence referendum on October 1, 2017. That was followed by an independence declaration passed by separatist parties inside the regional parliament.

The ERC has just formed a new government in coalition with the more hardline Together for Catalonia (Junts), and the former party is also needed by the central government – a coalition of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and leftist Unidas Podemos – in the Congress of Deputies if it is to pass legislation. As well as considering the pardons for the jailed separatist leaders, Prime Minister Sánchez has also committed to restarting talks between the central administration and the regional government over the future of Catalonia.

The text covering the pardons will be approved once the Justice Ministry, the deputy prime minister’s office and the closest members of Sánchez’s team manage to ensure that it is legally watertight and will avoid being struck down thanks to an appeal filed by far-right Vox, which is fiercely opposed to Catalan independence as well as the release of figures it describes as golpistas – i.e. coup-plotters. Such a setback would be devastating for the central government given that the aim of this controversial move is to heal the wounds of the independence drive.

The prime minister’s team is searching for all kinds of precedent and arguments focused on justice, fairness and above all the concept of “public interest” – i.e. that the pardons are positive for the general interest of Spain because they could help to resolve the conflict in Catalonia.

The government is seeking at all costs to avoid a collision course with the courts. The Supreme Court last week issued a report rejecting any kind of pardon for the jailed separatists, something that was not well received by the central government. The latter believes that the court has waded into politics by issuing statements that go further than the judicial realm, in particular its suggestion that the government would be issuing a “self-pardon” because the votes of ERC are necessary for the central administration to get things done in Congress. But the executive has not publicly transmitted this unease. Its arguments will avoid questioning the sentence of the Supreme Court trial itself, which Sánchez publicly applauded at the time.

What’s more, according to government sources, the pardons will have a number of limitations that will mean they are less likely to be successfully appealed in the courts. Firstly, they will have conditions and will be reversible – this means that if the jailed leaders reoffend, in a period that could be up to three years, the pardon would be annulled. This is a regular condition of such a pardon, but in this case, it will carry with it a political and legal significance: the political opposition and the Supreme Court itself has been arguing that the independence leaders cannot be pardoned because not only have they not expressed remorse – something that is not a legal requisite for such a pardon – but they have also openly stated that they would do it all over again.

The central government has played down these statements of defiance, however, given that they have little political relevance in Catalonia right now. The new premier in the region, Pere Aragonès (ERC), has just taken possession of his role committing to a referendum on the future of Catalonia that has been agreed with the state, thus distancing his administration from the unilateral approach of 2017 and reactivating the talks between the central government and his regional administration.

What’s more, the pardons will be only partial. The most likely outcome is that there will be no change to the part of the sentence that barred the leaders from political office, and instead, just some of the years on their sentences will be removed – these will differ according to each case, but will be sufficient to see them released from jail.

As for the political fallout from the imminent pardons, the opposition believes it has found a way to weaken the coalition government to the point of ending its term early, given that its electorate is divided on the issue. The PSOE itself – a reflection of the views on this issue across Spain – is split among party chiefs who clearly support the decision, such as the Valencian premier Ximo Puig, and those who reject it, such as his opposite number in Castilla-La Mancha Emiliano García-Page.

Some in the government are comparing the attacks that Sánchez is currently suffering over the issue with the attitude toward former PSOE prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero during negotiations with the now-disbanded Basque terrorist group ETA. “Zapatero opened the path to bring about the end of ETA,” a member of the executive told EL PAÍS. “Now he is applauded. But at the time they hammered him. The pardons will be a decision that will be understood a lot better within a few months and even more so in a few years. These are things that a prime minister has to do, whatever the cost.”

The government, meanwhile, is arguing that they were faced with the Catalan issue when they came to power and that they are at least managing to bring down the tension. The 2017 independence drive took place under the central government of Popular Party (PP) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was widely criticized at the time for inaction in the face of the rising challenges for the region as well as the police violence that unfolded against citizens the day of the illegal referendum itself. “The pardon is the worst thing that could happen for the hardest-line independence supporters, because it flies in the face of the claims that Spain is like Turkey,” a member of Sánchez’s team explained. “And the best thing for them would be a PP-Vox government.”

Ministers have been sharing a tweet from Elisenda Paluzie, the president of the pro-independence association ANC. “The pardons will not be a success,” she wrote. “They will be an intelligent political decision by the government against the independence movement. Politically they are disarming us and internationally they will be disastrous.” From the ranks of the PSOE, they believe that Paluzie “is seeing the play more clearly than the Spanish right, which once again is helping the independence movement.”

The major doubts that still overshadow this decision are whether or not the real motive of Sánchez for granting the pardons is the need to ensure he continues to have the decisive support of the 13 ERC deputies in Congress – the idea of a “self-pardon” that is being promoted by the PP. The government has responded by pointing out that it has already managed to pass its budget, its political survival is not currently at risk and all things being equal it will be able to see out the rest of its term without any problems. “This is much more important than the ERC or the PSOE,” one minister said. “This is being done to find a way out of the biggest political problem in Spain during 40 years of democracy.”

With more than two years ahead of him in government, Sánchez believes that he has the time to convince his voters that the pardons will have been worthwhile if they manage to refocus the Catalan issue. But the battle will be all-out from now on. “It’s the fight between the Spain that could be, with a deal with Catalonia, and the impossible,” one minister argued. “We will see who triumphs.”

https://english.elpais.com/politics...ders-will-be-fast-limited-and-reversible.html

 

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Thousands of Catalans rally for independence in Barcelona
By REUTERS | Sept 11, 2021

BARCELONA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Thousands of Catalans chanted, sang and waved flags as they marched through Barcelona on Saturday, calling for the region's independence from Spain.

The march, organised by the grassroots Assemblea Nacional Catalana ANC, was the first since Spain's government pardoned nine Catalan separatist leaders who had been jailed for their role in a 2017 botched bid for independence, which was Spain's biggest political crisis in decades.

Most marchers wore face coverings. Police said about 108,000 people took part. ANC put the figure close to 400,000.

The figure was lower than in 2019, when about 600,000 marched, and last year, when only small static protests were organised to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.

Some of the nine pardoned politicians and activists attended Saturday's protests. In Catalonia, Sept. 11 marks La Diada, the anniversary of the fall of Barcelona to Spanish forces in 1714 and it has been marked in the past decade by separatist rallies.

"For the first time in four years, nine very special people have participated in La Diada again. The political prisoners are back on the streets," said ANC chairwoman Elisenda Paluzie.

Cultural activist Jordi Cuixart, who was among those jailed, urged the crowd to continue to fight for independence.

"Those who ask us to turn the page and do not want us to fight for self-determination... What is Spain's plan for Catalonia? None. Only repression and more repression," he said.

The protests took place at a moment of lower tension between Barcelona and Madrid than in past years as the central and regional governments favour dialogue despite their opposing views on independence.

The central and regional governments are expected to meet next week in Barcelona to resume talks on Catalonia's political conflict, which have been suspended since Feb. 2020.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has not confirmed yet whether he will attend, and the talks risk being overshadowed by a recent clash between both governments related to Barcelona's airport.

The Spanish government has said it is cancelling a proposed 1.7-billion-euro ($2-billion) investment to expand the airport, saying it lacked backing from regional authorities who have questioned its potential environmental impact while accusing Madrid of acting dishonestly.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/thousands-catalans-rally-independence-barcelona-2021-09-11/

 

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Catalonia row deepens over family’s push for Spanish in school
Nationalists furious as court sides with family abused for seeking quarter of lessons in Spanish for their child
By Sam Jones | Sun 12 Dec 2021

The long-running and bitter row over language teaching in Catalonia has intensified after a family in the Spanish region was harassed and abused for seeking to ensure that a quarter of the lessons at the school their five-year-old son attends are taught in Spanish.

The family’s actions have provoked an angry response from some Catalan nationalists who view their stance as an assault on the region’s language and culture.

According to media reports, the family became the subject of a WhatsApp group that has suggested identifying the child and his parents. One person tweeted that their house should be stoned, while another called for the little boy to be shunned, adding: “The other children should leave their class when lessons are taught in Spanish. If we don’t react, they’ll kill our language.”

At the end of last week, the Catalan high court ordered the regional education ministry and the head of the school in the town of Canet de Mar to take measures to protect the boy and his identity.

During a visit to the school last Thursday, Josep Gonzàlez-Cambray, who serves as education minister in the pro-independence regional government – said he condemned “any kind of threats or violence”.

But he criticised the Catalan high court’s decision to order that 25% of classes be taught on Spanish as “an intolerable attack”, adding: “The Catalan school model is a model of success, which guarantees us social cohesion, equity and equal opportunities.”

Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the interior minister in Spain’s Socialist-led coalition government, has warned that “any threats to coexistence” will be investigated.

Salvador Illa, a former central government minister who now leads the Catalan Socialist party, also criticised the attacks on the family and said schools need to obey the decisions made by courts.

“This doesn’t go against Catalan; it’s about complying with rulings, and the [regional education system] still guarantees Catalan as the educational centre of gravity in Catalonia,” Illa said on Thursday.

The Spanish right has seized on the episode as proof of anti-Spanish discrimination in Catalonia, where the separatist government attempted unilateral secession in 2017.

Pablo Casado, the leader of the rightwing People’s party – which is leading the national polls but has just three MPs in the 135-seat Catalan parliament – said: “Today in Spain, we’re suffering a terrible case of linguistic segregation involving a five-year-old boy.”

Casado said the Catalan government was practising “linguistic apartheid” and accused the Socialist-led minority government of “complicit silence” because it relies on the support of some Catalan nationalists in congress.

The far-right Vox party, whose rise has been partly fuelled by the Catalan independence crisis, has called a demonstration outside the regional parliament on Tuesday evening. It said it would no longer allow “twisted separatism to continue assaulting the little boy and his family from Canet with total impunity”.

Language issues have also featured in the central government’s efforts to get next year’s budget through parliament. Last month, the administration of Pedro Sánchez attempted to placate the Catalan Republican Left party – which heads the regional government – by proposing that at least 6% of streaming platforms’ content would have to be in Spain’s co-official languages: Catalan, Galician or Basque.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...rupts-over-familys-push-for-spanish-in-school

 

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The education minister responsible for the 25% law actually resigned yesterday although he claims it has nothing to do with the protests.

It always amazed me how the international community stayed silent when it came to the reaction of the attempted vote, bar a handful of MEPs. The EU is always quick to shake a stick at none European countries for far less then the Spanish reaction was. Still I have to say a lot of the Catalan “leaders” lost a lot of respect from me by initially running and not it facing the music as the citizens were forced to.

 

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Isnt this just over taxes?

Richer region wants to breakaway from poorer ones so that their tax money doesnt flow to those areas?

Theyll still import food from those areas though. And cheap labour.

 

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Isnt this just over taxes?

Richer region wants to breakaway from poorer ones so that their tax money doesnt flow to those areas?

Theyll still import food from those areas though. And cheap labour.

While Catalonias economic position in relation to Spain does help make the case it’s absolutely not “just a tax issue” for the Catalans or the basques. They are distinct regions with different languages and cultures. These issues go back hundreds of years and the repression under Franco and Spain’s “dirty war” against the Basques is still fresh.

 

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Looks like the Spanish state may have had a lot more knowledge on the terror cell involved in the 2017 attack then previously thought

Rogue police officer’s claim about Barcelona terror strike triggers anger

The government of Catalonia is demanding an investigation after a controversial former police officer claimed that Spanish intelligence services knew about the activities of a terrorist cell ahead of a deadly attack it carried out.

Fourteen people died on August 17th, 2017, when a van driven by Younes Abouyaaquob deliberately ploughed into pedestrians in central Barcelona. Abouyaaquob stabbed and killed another person soon afterwards and five other members of his jihadist cell ran over and killed a woman in the town of Cambrils, also in Catalonia. All six terrorists were eventually shot dead by police.

The former police officer, José Manuel Villarejo, who is currently on trial for a series of crimes including bribery and extortion, appeared to suggest that the CNI intelligence service knew not only about the terrorist cell but also about its plans. He told the high court that the then head of the CNI, Félix Sanz Roldán, made “a serious mistake” with regard to the terrorist cell because “he miscalculated the consequences of causing a bit of a scare in Catalonia”.

The 2017 attack took place just a few weeks before the Catalan government oversaw a chaotic referendum on independence, in defiance of the Spanish courts. Some pro-independence Catalans have maintained ever since that the attack was somehow linked to the Spanish state’s efforts to thwart the secessionist movement.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/wor...celona-terror-strike-triggers-anger-1.4774969

Calls for an investigation

His comments on Tuesday have sparked outrage among part of the Catalan political parties, especially those in favor of independence.

For years, they have urged Spain to run an investigation on the links between its intelligence and Abdelbaki Es Satty. After Villarejo's comments on Tuesday, the current Catalan president, Pere Aragonès, demanded Madrid to look into it again and requested his government's legal team to review the former police officer's remarks.

"If his words are true, we need an explanation now," said Aragonès.

Parliament speaker Laura Borràs also requested for the chamber's legal team to take the case to the public prosecutor.

Carles Puigdemont, who was Catalan president in 2017, said that Spain should be accountable for the attacks "for its rejection to investigate" the alleged links between Es Satty and Villarejo.

Seven parties in Spain's Congress will request for a parliamentary committee on the issue to be launched.

Villarejo was ordered to discredit Catalan pro-independence politicians

Villarejo has become a famous character in the past few years after he leaked a number of recordings of private conversations he had with important figures, such as former King Juan Carlos' lover Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. After some of these leaks, the prosecutor in Switzerland began an investigation against the former monarch for allegedly having received $100 million from Saudi Arabia in 2008.

Especially after being accused of several crimes related to his discreet operations and being imprisoned, the former inspector has revealed the content of such conversations and some of his activities, involving the Spanish state in operations such as trying to discredit Catalan pro-independence politicians.

In 2018, some recordings leaked by the media outlet moncloa.com revealed that Villarejo explained to the then prosecutor Dolores Delgado that he had created a prostitution network in order to get information from politicians and businesspeople.

https://www.catalannews.com/politic...-s-secret-service-says-former-police-official

 

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Why Spain’s acting leader is offering a politically explosive amnesty for Catalan separatists​

By CIARÁN GILES and JOSEPH WILSON | November 12, 2023



MADRID (AP) — Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez ’s chances of forming a new coalition minority government following an inconclusive election in July were greatly boosted this week after reaching an agreement with a tiny party he surely hoped he would never have to rely on.

The deal is with Together for Catalunya, also known as Junts — a group bent on achieving independence for the northeastern region of Catalonia that’s headed by Carles Puigdemont, who fled Spain after leading a failed illegal secession bid in 2017 that brought the country to the brink.

Key to the agreement signed Thursday is a massively controversial amnesty that could benefit Puigdemont and thousands of other secessionists. But the proposal, backed by several smaller left-wing parties, has roused the ire of the conservative and far-right opposition parties that represent roughly half the country’s population. Many in the judiciary and police are also opposed.
On Sunday, hundreds of thousands filled squares in all of Spain’s provincial capitals responding to a call by the conservative opposition to protest against the amnesty and to demand fresh elections.

Here is what you need to know about the amnesty and how it all came about.

WHAT IS THE AMNESTY FOR?​

Few details have been released of the amnesty proposal being debated between Sánchez’s Socialist party and Junts, which will have to be approved by Spain’s Parliament. However, the idea is it would wipe away the legal cases against Puigdemont and thousands of others who took part in the secession bid or participated in protests, some of which turned violent, when Spain implemented a crackdown in response.

Sánchez, whose government has already granted pardons to several jailed leaders of the Catalan independence movement, says the amnesty will be positive for Spain because it will calm waters inside Catalonia. Puigdemont is one of several Catalan leaders who fled justice after an illegal independence referendum was held in 2017. An amnesty would allow the five who are still abroad, including Puigdemont, to return to Spain and even run for office again someday.

WHO WANTS AN INDEPENDENT CATALONIA?​

The idea of independence from Spain stretches back decades, if not centuries, for a region that is fiercely proud of its institutions, traditions, and Catalan language, which is spoken along with Spanish. It gathered momentum during the financial crisis of 2008-2013 and then peaked in 2017 when Puigdemont, as regional president, held the illegal ballot on secession and made an ineffectual declaration of independence that received zero international recognition.

The nearly 8 million inhabitants of Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona, are roughly divided over independence, although the latest opinion polls in the region indicate fewer favor secession.

WHY IS SÁNCHEZ OFFERING AMNESTY?​

Given that Puigdemont is considered public enemy No. 1 for many Spaniards, and Catalan independence a politically toxic issue, some wonder why Sánchez, who has long opposed any amnesty, is now pushing for it. The answer, critics say, is pure political necessity and the desire to stay in office.

A national election in July left no party close to an absolute majority. Sánchez’s Socialists with 121 seats, and their leftist coalition partner Sumar — translated as Joining Forces — with 31, need the support of several smaller parties to clinch a 176 majority in Parliament and stay in power. Those include the two pro-secession Catalan parties who led the unsuccessful 2017 breakaway attempt. Junts, with seven seats, became the key.

The chance given to Puigdemont to play kingmaker by the summer’s election outcome breathed new life into his political career and his cause just when his party was losing ground inside Catalonia, where Sánchez’s Socialists are on the rise.

HOW HAVE OPPONENTS RESPONDED?​

Massive protests against the amnesty in recent weeks have been called by the conservative Popular Party and the far-right Vox, who accuse Sánchez of betraying the country and handing power to a fugitive. The largest demonstrations so far were held Sunday, when the PP staged a major show of force, and its leader called for keeping the protests alive until Sánchez calls a new national election.

“Spain is going to have a prime minister who has bought his investiture in exchange for the judicial impunity of his allies,” PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said, adding that the Socialist leader had “no scruples.”

Earlier this week, violence broke out at rallies backed by Vox outside the Socialist Party’s headquarters in Madrid. Police say the violence has been caused by a minority of extreme right-wing radicals.

WHAT ARE THE KEY POINTS OF THE DEAL WITH JUNTS?​

Under the deal signed Thursday between the Socialists and Junts, both parties recognize their vastly different points of view on the Catalan conflict but agree to work together to resolve it. Junts says it will propose holding another self-determination referendum but agrees to not do it unilaterally, like in 2017. Instead, it will be under Article 92 of the Constitution, which demands the authorization of the prime minister, the Parliament and the king. Junts also demands that more tax revenues stay in Catalonia, one of Spain’s richest regions, similar to agreements signed with rich Basque Country and Navarra regions.

The two parties also agree that the amnesty must cover all those who have been subjected to judicial processes — both before and after the 2017 referendum. One clause that is seen as a possible interference in the judiciary is the mention that commissions may investigate if there were cases of “lawfare,” meaning that the justice system was used for political purposes against secessionists that might require legislative modifications.

A LEGAL QUAGMIRE​

Any amnesty approved by Spain’s Parliament is likely to be contested by the opposition parties and several courts in Spain. This may not immediately affect the beneficiaries of the amnesty, but it would cause a legal quagmire of gigantic proportions in an already clogged judiciary.

Meanwhile, Spain’s Supreme Court is still trying to have Puigdemont extradited from Belgium for embezzlement. On top of that, the lower National Court recently named him and another secessionist leader in an investigation into possible terrorism during the independence push.

The amnesty talks have also drawn the attention of the European Union Commissioner of Justice, Didier Reynders, who sent Spain’s government a request for more information.

Why Spain's acting leader is offering a politically explosive amnesty for Catalan separatists

Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s chances of forming a new coalition minority government following an inconclusive election in July have been greatly boosted by a deal with a tiny party he surely hoped he would never have to rely on.

apnews.com

 

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Thousands protest in Madrid over proposed amnesty for Catalan separatists​

By:NEWS WIRES • Nov 18, 2023

Around 170,000 people, according to police, gathered in Plaza de Cibeles in the heart of the Spanish capital in response to a call by right-wing leaders opposed to the amnesty plan.

Cries of "Sanchez, traitor", "Sanchez in jail" and "Catalonia is Spain" were shouted by protesters of all ages who carried Spanish and other European flags distributed by the European People's Party.

"What Pedro Sanchez wants is to cut Spain into pieces, to have the Basque country on one side and Catalonia on the other, and to say nothing happened," said Maria Angeles Galan, a 65-year-old retiree from Madrid at the rally.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in power since 2018, came second in July parliamentary elections behind right-wing leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, but managed to be reinstated after winning support from regionalist groups including Catalan pro-independence parties.

In exchange for their votes, which were essential for reaching a governing majority, Sanchez accepted several concessions including the adoption of the amnesty bill for separatist leaders and activists who were prosecuted for their involvement in Catalonia's 2017 secession attempt.

"They know they don't have the votes to do what they're doing. That's why we're telling them with this demonstration," Feijoo said, accusing Sanchez of pitting Spaniards "against each other".

Also present at the demonstration was the leader of the far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal, who called the law "as serious as a coup d'etat".

The two leaders did not attend the demonstration together.

Feijoo had attempted in September to be chosen as prime minister with the support of Abascal, but failed to win a majority in parliament.

"I think that the fight starts now," said Mariana, a 51-year-old entrepreneur at the protest who did not want to give her surname, adding that "it's a message to Europe".

Earlier this month, Brussels called on Madrid for an explanation on the amnesty bill after saying it had "been contacted about the issue by a large number of citizens".

Luis Garrido, 65, who called himself a "socialist but not a Sanchist", said the prime minister should not have accepted "this price".

"I don't want Spain to sink" and be "divided in this way", he said.

The crowd that gathered around midday dispersed peacefully after speeches were made.

Demonstrations have been held every day for the past two weeks in front of the Socialist Party headquarters in Madrid, some of which have turned violent and resulted in dozens of arrests.

Thousands protest in Madrid over proposed amnesty for Catalan separatists

Tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets of Madrid on Saturday to denounce a proposed amnesty law for Catalan separatists and activists, which was key for the left-wing government to retain…

www.france24.com

 

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stop bumping all your threads FFS.

 

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Catalan amnesty law ‘in line’ with EU values, Spain’s justice minister says ​

‘No concern’ in Brussels over controversial get-out-of-jail-free card for separatists, Félix Bolaños tells POLITICO.
By Jakob Hanke Vela and Nicolas Camut | December 4, 2023

BRUSSELS — The Spanish government plans to use a contested law granting amnesty to Catalan separatists to quell the independence conflict, Justice and Presidency Minister Félix Bolaños told POLITICO.

“If in Brussels the feeling is that the Catalan issue had almost been forgotten, it is precisely thanks to the policies of the government of [Prime Minister] Pedro Sánchez … to tackle with politics, with dialogue, with courage the issue,” Bolaños said in an interview with Brussels Playbook during a trip to Brussels last week.

Now, Bolaños added, “we want to take the definitive step for this new stage in Catalonia.”

In November, Sánchez’s Socialist Party filed a bill granting blanket amnesty to all those who have been prosecuted for their involvement with the pro-Catalan independence movement since 2012. This was part of a deal to form a minority coalition government with the far-left alliance Sumar and the backing of the Junts Catalan separatist party.

The agreement with Junts put an end to months of political paralysis in the country after an election in July left no party with a clear path to a majority.

But the proposed amnesty bill also sparked enormous protests, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets across Spain.

The bill also sparked concerns in Brussels, with European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders sending a letter to the Spanish authorities asking for details about the planned law even before it was filed.

Bolaños, who held meetings with Reynders and Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová last week to discuss the controversial amnesty, said he believed the bill will be approved “during the first quarter of next year.”

Asked about Brussels’ questions on the amnesty law, Bolaños said “there is no concern … which I know there is not, because they have told me on the phone and [in person] that there is no concern for the rule of law.”

The amnesty “is in line with the values of the European Union, the value of dialogue, of coexistence, of overcoming conflict,” Bolaños insisted.

But a spokesperson for the European Commission said that although the EU’s executive had not yet said whether it had concerns about the amnesty law, it still had “questions” about the bill.

Last week, Junts separatist leader Carles Puigdemont warned he would be willing to withdraw his support to Prime Minister Sánchez’s government if “there is not sufficient progress” in negotiations for Catalan independence.

He has also said he would be open to working with the conservative Popular Party (PP) to depose Sánchez mid-term.

But Bolaños said these were merely empty threats, because the PP would need the support from the far-right Vox party — which has taken a hard line against Catalan independence — to topple Sánchez.

“What’s true is that the Popular Party would love to make a pact with Junts … in fact, they tried over the summer,” the minister said.

“But they failed because the Spanish Popular Party is chained to the Spanish ultra-right … [without which] it cannot achieve a majority,” he added.

Asked whether he agreed with Puigdemont’s assessment that there were politicized judges in Spain, Bolaños said it was possible. But, he added, if any cases were confirmed, they would be prosecuted. He cited previous instances where officials had illegally “fabricated evidence” as an example of action that could be prosecuted.

New parliamentary investigative committees, created at the behest of Junts, will inquire about such alleged “lawfare” cases.

“If in these investigative committees any criminal case is discovered, it will be transferred to the Prosecutor’s Office so that the Prosecutor’s Office can initiate legal action” against such judges or officials, Bolaños said.

Catalan amnesty law ‘in line’ with EU values, Spain’s justice minister says

‘No concern’ in Brussels over controversial get-out-of-jail-free card for separatists, Félix Bolaños tells POLITICO.

www.politico.eu