A decisive ruling for the political future of Spain. This Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) announced its long-awaited ruling on the Spanish amnesty law and upheld it, considering that it is not contrary to European law. Among the arguments in favor of the law promoted by the head of government, Pedro Sánchez, the court considered that “its purpose is to reduce institutional and political tensions and facilitate a scenario of reconciliation.”
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When analyzing the issue of embezzlement – the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and members of his then government were accused of having used more than 1.5 million euros of public funds to organize the 2017 referendum – the Luxembourg-based court pointed out that it does not go against the financial interests of the community bloc.
“It cannot be considered that the financial interests of the Union are affected by the mere decrease in gross national income that could potentially result from the secession of part of the national territory,” the ruling described.
On the other hand, regarding the issue of terrorism offenses – accusations associated with the demonstrations organized later in 2019 – the CJEU determined that the amnesty law is fully compatible with EU law on counter-terrorism.
“The Spanish amnesty law does not undermine the effective application of the directive on the fight against terrorism (…) since it merely establishes afterwards that terrorist offenses committed exclusively in the specific context of the Catalan independence movement will not be prosecuted, except for those that have intentionally caused serious human rights violations,” the judges explained.
The Spanish Congress approved in 2024 the amnesty law for those convicted, prosecuted, and judicially investigated in relation to the “procés.” That is, the entire process that attempted Catalonia’s independence and which covers from November 1, 2011, to November 13, 2023, including the holding of the secession referendum, not authorized by Madrid, which took place on October 1, 2017.
The referendum, as well as the unilateral declaration of independence of Catalonia that followed, had been annulled by the Spanish Constitutional Court and its organizers had been prosecuted for crimes of sedition, rebellion, embezzlement, and disobedience.
Nine Catalan independence leaders, including Oriol Junqueras, were sentenced to prison in 2019, while the former Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, fled to Belgium, where he still resides.
The Amnesty Law, promoted by the current national government and the Catalan independence supporters – an alliance that allowed Pedro Sánchez to obtain the necessary support in Congress for a second term – benefited hundreds of people.
However, the Spanish courts refused to apply it to the most important cases such as Puigdemont’s. In other cases, such as Oriol Junqueras’s, although the independence leader was able to leave prison in 2021 thanks to a government pardon, he still suffers disqualification and cannot run for public office.
The Spanish courts turned to European Justice, accusing the independence leaders of violating European law, in an attempt to prevent the application of that law.
But the response known this July 16 marks a turn in the response those courts expected.
The Spanish Minister of Justice, Felix Bolaños, immediately called for the application of the regulation. “The horizon is now clear for the full application of the law (…) The law will only have been fully complied with, as approved by the General Courts, when it is also applied to the political leaders who promoted the independence process,” he emphasized this Thursday at a press conference.
Carles Puigdemont, as well as other exiled leaders, still faces a national arrest warrant issued by the Supreme Court of Spain. Although the former Generalitat leader has welcomed the CJEU decision, he has also been cautious and has not spoken of a possible return to Spain. However, he warned the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court of his country that not applying the amnesty, after this ruling, goes against European law.
“If they continue to refuse to apply the amnesty in its entirety, they will not only be violating a law approved by Parliament and declared constitutional, but they will also be confronting European law. The CJEU could not have been clearer and has left no legal loophole through which our victory can be challenged,” Puigdemont stressed in a message posted on his account on the X platform.
Likewise, one of the greatest figures of Catalan independence warned that their struggle is not over.
“The path to end repression is not yet finished. We know who we are facing, and some will not be fooled. Without a doubt, we have many more tools that support our position and will be useful to us in the future. But the game will no longer be played in Europe, but at the Bernabéu, with referees and an audience leaning to one side,” he added.
For its part, the Popular Party, one of the most fervent opponents of the amnesty, responded that it respects the European court ruling but insists on rejecting that law.
The party’s secretary general, Miguel Tellado, said in Madrid this Thursday that the ruling has a scope limited to resolving “only the specific doubts raised by the Spanish courts.”
“We will continue defending equality before the law, the unity of Spain, and zero tolerance against all kinds of political, moral, and institutional corruption,” Tellado insisted.
Now, the Spanish Constitutional Court is expected to resolve the case before the end of the year.
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