The community vice president Vera Jourová will replace the until now Commissioner of Justice, Didier Reynders, in mediating the negotiations with the PSOE and the PP for the reform of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), community sources confirmed this Monday.
The commissioner asked the president of the community Executive, Ursula von der Leyen, to leave the Commission this week instead of April 25, as planned, because he has been invited to participate in the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, the same sources indicated. .
Other sources consulted by Europa Press specify, however, that regarding the mediation exercised by Reynders "there are no automatisms" and that "it is up to the Spanish to see if they want to continue" with the structured dialogue established by Brussels after Von herself gave der Leyen gave the green light for this unprecedented format to be established to resolve a national policy issue.
"The ball is in their court," says another senior community source consulted, referring to the fact that it is the PSOE and the PSOE who must take the next step to reactivate the dialogue in Brussels. They also clarify that Von der Leyen has asked Vice President Jourova to take on mediation if the parties "decide to move forward."
In this regard, the source emphasizes that the task assumed by Brussels is mediation "but the dialogue must be between the parties" and, therefore, the European Commission "is there to help, but does not lead the process."
Thus, the Belgian politician has put aside his task as Commissioner of Justice since this Monday - and not on April 25 as announced - to compete for the general secretary of the Council of Europe (a body outside the EU but to which the community institutions listen to set the standards for rule of law). The advancement of commitments with the Council of Europe within the framework of the campaign is what has forced Reynders to prematurely leave his community work.
In any case, the European Commission has already made it clear that although Reynders initially gave PP and PSOE a period of two months to reach an agreement - a period that expired at the end of March - the mediation could continue beyond that date and, even beyond the departure of the commissioner, as long as there continued to be options and a willingness to reach an agreement.
In statements to the press at the beginning of April, Reynders warned the parties that it was their turn to show political will to agree to resume "the three-way discussion" but that first "it is necessary for the two parties to talk to each other." "I hope that is what is happening in Madrid," confided the commissioner, after emphasizing that he remained open to dialogue despite the cancellation of the last meeting.
Reynders had planned to have traveled to Madrid on March 27 to participate in a new meeting with the negotiators of the PSOE and PP - the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, and the Deputy Secretary of Institutional Action of the PP, Esteban González Pons, respectively. However, the commissioner postponed the meeting at the last minute without a date at the request of the popular and after verifying that the parties needed "time."
Since then, the commissioner did not have any further contact with the parties and did not consider taking the initiative because he understood that it was up to PSOE and PP to take the step of "requesting a new meeting", as community sources have indicated to Europa Press. In his statements, the commissioner on leave insisted that "it is necessary for the parties to agree so that progress can be made" and recalled that the basis of the structured dialogue are the annual recommendations on the rule of law that have been urging Spain for two years. to renew the CGPJ as a "priority" and to undertake "immediately afterwards" the reform of the system of election of members.
Although both PSOE and PP emphasize their willingness and will to resolve the 'impasse' in which the governing body of the judges finds itself, they continue to clash over the times since while the socialists only see urgency in the renewal - and talk about leaving for "later" the reform of the model--, for the 'popular' it is essential that both issues go hand in hand.
