The involvement of Brussels in the negotiations for the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) as well as the reform of the method of electing judges, was practically the only thing on which the president of the Spanish Government agreed, Pedro Sánchez, and the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, in the meeting that the two leaders held at the end of 2023 on the situation of the governing body of the magistrates. It was brought up by the head of the opposition and Moncloa signed it straight away, but the plan, which would imply that the European Commissioner for Justice, the Belgian Didier Reynders, act as "mediator", is backfired.
Surprise: the European Commission continues without answering the singular demand, on its table since December 23. And Reynders, in a decision motivated by internal electoral movements in his country, has begun to pack his bags: the Belgian Government has appointed him as candidate for secretary general of the Council of Europe, an organization outside the EU based in Strasbourg that watch over human rights. The usual thing when a European commissioner applies for another position or stands for an election is to take a leave of absence without pay and that is what will happen to Reynders, the Commission said yesterday.
His departure will not be immediate: the Belgian liberal will not have to leave his duties until the Council of Europe makes the list of candidates official, as explained by a community spokesman. But, although the procedure may take a few weeks, Reynders' resignation from the Community Executive is inevitable. He already ran for office in 2019 and failed, but this time the Belgian, whose ambitions to lead the list of French-speaking liberals in the European elections were thwarted by Charles Michel, does not want to let the office slip away.
In these cases, the functions of the commissioner on leave pass to another colleague. Brussels has not made a statement, but a candidate could be the vice-president Věra Jourová, head of Values and Transparency. The Czech liberal is involved together with Reynders in the analysis of the rule of law in the EU, but Feijóo preferred to propose as mediator the Belgian, closer to the PP and Cs. In any case, Brussels has shown little enthusiasm for the prospect of mediating on the CGPJ. "Give us some time. We want to make sure that the way we respond helps move the process forward, is helpful, and contributes to resolving the matter," said his spokesman, Eric Mamer, on Monday. "Let's not forget that this is the responsibility of the Spanish authorities, not the EC", he emphasized.
