The PP puts in campaign the Judicial Power and takes to Congress a reform of the election system

The spokesperson of the PP in Congress, Cuca Gamarra, on Tuesday. Alberto Ortega (Europa Press)

After the umpteenth wake-up call of the Commissioner for Justice of the European Union, Didier Reynders, who has urged this Monday to renew the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) before the Spanish presidency of the EU on July 1, the PP has moved tab with the intention of not losing the debate in the middle of the campaign. The popular recover their proposal to reform the method of election of the Council, registered for months in Congress, so that the judges directly choose at least half of the members, and take it to the plenary session next Tuesday. The objective is to force a vote with which to portray the PSOE, since the PP model is aligned with that proposed by Brussels, in the face of the reluctance of the Socialists. But the PP keeps in the air whether or not it would negotiate in parallel the renewal of the CGPJ, which is also claimed by the European Union, and whose mandate has been blocked for more than three years.

The PP will ask to process the proposal of law by the urgent route so that it can be approved before the beginning of the Spanish presidency of the EU. Next Tuesday will vote its consideration in Congress, in the first week of campaigning for the municipal and regional elections of May 28, and while the president, Pedro Sánchez, and the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, face each other in the control session in the Senate.

Despite the movement, the PP does not clarify whether it would negotiate again with the Government the renewal of the CGPJ in the event that the Socialists supported the parliamentary processing of the norm. "There is a proposal [from the PP] for us to homologate with Europe. Who must respond first is the PSOE to this step taken by the PP, "responded Tuesday the secretary general, Cuca Gamarra, in Congress. "Sanchez takes the separation of powers quite badly," criticized Feijóo's number two. Sources of the popular leadership avoid specifying whether or not they are willing to reopen talks with the PSOE to end the blockade of the governing body of the judges, a negotiation that broke the PP for the reform of the crime of sedition that the Government approved to alleviate the penalties to the Catalan independence leaders.

The objective of the PP with this movement is to "clarify the position", explain sources of the Feijóo team, taking into account that Brussels urges again the two major parties to renew the Judicial Power. The popular try not to appear as those responsible for the blockade and that is why they cling to Brussels also urges to modify the method of election so that the judges directly choose the members without political participation. However, Commissioner Reynders calls first for the current CGPJ to be renewed, and then for the system to be reformed. "We recommend proceeding with the renewal of the CGPJ. It is a priority and, immediately after the renewal, initiate a process in order to adapt the appointment of its members taking into account European standards, "said the head of Justice of the EU on Monday.

The proposal of organic law to modify the law of the Judicial Power registered by the PP in January of this year establishes that the members of the CGPJ of judicial origin (12 of 20) will be elected "directly by and among all the judges and magistrates belonging to all the judicial categories that are in active service".