According to sources inside the European People’s Party (EPP), the European Parliament has accepted two citizen petitions denouncing the deterioration of the rule of law and judicial independence in Spain. The Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament will analyze these demands during the session on March 16 and 17, this year.
On January 23, 2025, a first petition was registered against what’s popularly known as the Begoña Law (named after Begoña Gómez, Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez’s wife). According to the petitioner, the proposed legislation seeks to drastically restrict popular legal action in the judiciary and allow the Executive to shield itself from ongoing judicial investigations, particularly those affecting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s relatives.
The complaint also highlights that the law would establish a ground for the recusal of judges for “political” reasons, which could lead to greater government control over the judiciary. Additionally, it warns about the growing influence of the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, whose independence is in question and who faces a criminal charge for abuse of office.
The petition calls on the European Commission to conduct a preliminary investigation into the constitutionality of the law and its compatibility with EU law. It also requests that the Commission refer the petition to the Committees on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Constitutional Affairs of the European Parliament for further scrutiny.
On the same day, a second petition was submitted to the European Parliament arguing that the reform of popular legal action would drastically limit citizen’s ability to participate in legal cases. It would be restricted to cases concerning certain crimes and exclude cases involving political parties, associations, and legal entities. According to the petitioner, this would represent a severe setback in transparency and citizen oversight of the judiciary.
Another highly controversial aspect of the reform is creating a new abstention rule, which would force judges to step aside from cases if they have expressed critical opinions on them or participated in events related to institutions or their representatives involved. This point is viewed as an attack on judicial freedom of expression and an attempt at ideological cleansing within the judiciary.
The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, stated on February 20th in the regional parliament that the European Parliament is investigating the Begoña Law and its intention to “help relatives in distress.”
I am announcing that the European Parliament has decided to investigate the rule of law situation in Spain in light of the most shocking cases that have occurred—the Begoña Law, which seeks to help relatives in distress, the freedom of the media to report on it, and the lack of independence of the Attorney General (Álvaro García Ortiz), who is indicted for his role in a state operation against a political rival. That is what they are doing.
She also denounced that Pedro Sánchez’s government is “twisting institutions, manipulating the judiciary, interfering with the Supreme Court and its chambers, and trying to turn the Constitutional Court into a mere cassation tribunal”—a high-level court that primarily reviews legal rulings to ensure they are consistent with the law, rather than reconsidering the facts of a case.
The judicial reforms come at a time when Pedro Sánchez’s administration faces a series of corruption scandals involving the closest circles of the prime minister. Among the most notorious cases are investigations into alleged unlawful actions involving his wife, Begoña Gómez, his brother, David Sánchez, and members of the political leadership.
HazteOír.org, which presented its concerns to the European Parliament’s office in Madrid on February 18, is one of the leading defenders of popular legal action that vocally demands an investigation into the corruption cases linked to the PSOE and its leader.
While the European Union has frozen funds for Poland and Hungary over judicial independence concerns, in the case of Spain, despite apparent attempts by the executive to control the judiciary and shield itself from corruption cases, EU institutions have shown a much more lenient stance.
The upcoming European Parliament debate in March will thus be a key moment to address the situation in Spain, and determine whether Pedro Sánchez’s government is indeed compromising Spain’s democratic values.
