The reform of the Penal Code promoted a few months ago by the Government of Pedro Sánchez, which benefited several Catalan politicians tried for their involvement in the pro-independence process, could have a short life.
If it goes ahead with the proposed anti-corruption directive, adopted yesterday by the college of European commissioners, Spain would have to revise its legislation to raise the penalties and bring them in line with the new European thresholds. While the maximum penalty provided for the crime of embezzlement of public funds in Spain is currently four years in cases where "attenuated types" are applied, the European Commission proposes that the maximum prison sentence be "of at least five years".
The proposed directive must be negotiated and agreed by the Council of Ministers of Justice of the EU and the European Parliament in order for it to enter into force. The aim of the broader initiative is to harmonize the definition and penalties of all crimes related to corruption. Community law currently only covers the crime of bribery. With the new proposal, misappropriation, influence peddling and abuse of office, money laundering, obstruction of justice and illicit enrichment would also be covered.
The text of the proposal defines in article 9 the crime of embezzlement in the public sector as "the commitment, disbursement, appropriation or use by a public official of assets whose management has been directly or indirectly entrusted to him against the purpose for which they were intended”, when the person in question acts “intentionally”. For this crime, as well as for influence peddling and abuse of office, Brussels proposes that the maximum prison sentences "be at least five years".
The latest reform of the Spanish Penal Code, which entered into force on January 12, applies higher penalties, but thanks to the introduction of two attenuated types (see the information on this same page ) places some convictions below the threshold european
Yesterday the Government began to study the text "carefully". "We are analyzing the proposal, which is very ambitious, broad and will affect many member states, if not all", explained Spanish diplomatic sources. Depending on the final outcome of the negotiation, "necessary adjustments will be made in accordance with European legislation".
In any case, they pointed out that if changes need to be made "they will be minimal" because Spanish anti-corruption legislation "arrives with its duties done" compared to that of other countries.
There is just one calendar year left of the European legislature. If an agreement were not reached within this time frame, the dossier would pass into the hands of the European Parliament that will be established after the elections in June 2024. Governments are usually given a year to adapt national legislation to the new European standard. The circumstance is that Spain will be the country in charge of moderating the discussions, since on July 1 it will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the Union and will preside over the meetings of the European Ministers of Justice and the Interior. "We are tightening the siege on corruption. It is the first time that we have put the public and private sectors under the same umbrella of law", celebrated the European Commissioner for the Interior, former Swedish minister Ylva Johansson.
