Spain: agreement between the government and Catalan independentists to hand over an amnesty law to Congress

The PSOE, the main party of the Spanish government coalition chaired by Pedro Sánchez, announced on Wednesday an agreement with the Catalan pro-independence forces Junts and ERC to draft an amnesty law covering “all people” linked to the separatist process in Catalonia (northeast Spain).

The future amnesty law is expected to benefit separatists prosecuted for their participation in Catalonia’s failed secession in 2017.

On Wednesday the three parties announced an agreement on the amnesty law which, according to their defense, is “fully compliant with the ConstitutionEuropean law and jurisprudence and the best European and international standards”.

Almost four months after Pedro Sánchez took office as president of the government, this agreement hands the key to the leader of the Spanish socialists be able to approve budgets and move the legislature forward.

In a joint statement, PSOE, Junts and ERC underline that they have agreed on a transactional amendment based on the amendments still in force, but do not explain its content, although Junts sources specified that the new text will include “the crimes of terrorism and treason”. adapted to European standards and not to the Spanish penal code”.

The details of the agreement will be announced tomorrow, Thursday before the meeting of the Congressional Judiciary Committee, who must approve the opinion of the law.

The law will then predictably pass the plenary session of Congress next week before being transmitted to the Senate, where it will no longer be subjected to the emergency procedure, which will allow the main opposition People’s Party (PP) delay your approval for up to two monthssince the conservative formation controls the upper house with an absolute majority.

PSOE, ERC and Junts underline that they reached the agreement after days of joint work, but do not reveal the main unknown: Which crimes will be excluded from the amnesty.

All eyes are on the situation of former President of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont, leader of Junts, after last week’s Supreme Court decision opened a criminal case against him for his alleged leadership of the Tsunami Democràtic organization and deemed the facts to be part of a terrorist crime.

The People’s Party, against

The conservative PP harshly attacked the agreement reached and announced it will fight it “in the institutions and in the courts” and sees it as proof that the PSOE, in addition to “economic corruption”, resorts to “political corruption” to stay in power.

As soon as the agreement became known, sources from the Popular Party underlined in a statement that the pact with the parties “who want to dismember the country” is “proof that the president of the Spanish government accepts that during a certain period of time in Catalonia there were no laws to follow and that there are no more sentences to apply.”

Furthermore, the People’s Party assure that in this way “Spain apologizes to the independence movement by order of Pedro Sánchez” and announce that They will not accept this “humiliation” and to do so they will fight the agreement in the institutions and in the courts.

They also underline that in the PSOE there are “two types of corruption”: that generated by money and that produced “by power” and that in recent days “socialism has been tainted in both directions”.

“Due to economic corruption some became rich: p“or political corruption some remain powerful”they say.

For his part, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, of the ERC, celebrated “the necessary agreement” because “Democracy wins with amnesty”stated in X.

“It is a crucial and solid law. A necessary agreement that I celebrate very much, especially for all those who feel a little more relieved today. There is still a long way to go, and it will not be easy, but today we are closer to Leaving repression is behind us. Democracy is won with amnesty,” he said.