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The disputed Spanish law granting an amnesty to those involved in Catalonia’s 2017 separatist referendum does not violate European Union rules, the EU’s top court ruled on Thursday.
The decision is a boost both for pardoned Catalan politicians and for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, for whom the deal was necessary in order to retain power after 2023’s elections.
What did the Court of Justice of the European Union rule?
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) agreed with the Spanish government’s longstanding position that the amnesty was reconcilable with EU laws on the scope and limits of member state’s powers when granting political amnesty.
“The court finds that the Spanish amnesty law concerns a field which falls within the competence of Member States,” CJEU judge Koen Lenaerts said, in other words saying it was not a decision where Spain had to defer to EU authorities in Brussels.
Spain’s Constitutional Court had also supported the law.
“[The court] does not oppose a law which, in order to reduce institutional and political tensions and facilitate a process of reconciliation, provides for the extinction of criminal liability,” one of the CJEU’s judges said when delivering the verdict.
Why was the amnesty contentious?
The move, which cleared Spain’s parliament in 2024, faced major opposition protests after the elections of 2023.
That’s largely because the deal enabled Sanchez to remain in power in a minority government with support from parties including Catalan and Basque nationalist groups.
The conservative People’s Party (PP), which is the largest single party in Spain’s parliament but only leads the opposition, had argued that it was not reasonable to pardon what authorities in Madrid had deemed a terrorist attempt at sedition, albeit by peaceful political means.
Spanish Justice Minister Felix Bolanos said that now there could be “no doubt” that the amnesty was in line with EU law.
In a televised statement on Thursday, he said that despite the amnesty being “strongly” rejected by parts of the population at the time, “it has been worth it.”
Having seen the amnesty’s effects helping to normalize the political situation in Catalonia, Bolanos said, “nobody, not even its most staunch critics, would want to give up its benefits.”
What happened in Catalonia’s push for independence in 2017?
The regional government in the wealthy northeastern region of Catalonia, with Barcelona as its capital and a longstanding independence movement, defied authorities in Madrid and held a referendum on independence from Spain in 2017.
Despite being declared illegal by Spain’s constitutional court and police efforts to detain regional politicians and materials like ballot papers and ballot boxes, the vote went ahead in most of the region on October 1.
Opponents of the motion dubbed the plebiscite illegitimate and urged their supporters to boycott polling.
Among those who voted, 92% called for secession — but only 43% of eligible Catalonia residents participated.
The amnesty excuses people found guilty of “terrorist” acts pertaining to the secession movement, provided those acts were non-violent and did not otherwise infringe on people’s human rights.
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Could this ruling and another yet to come lead to Carles Puigdemont’s return?
The leader of the Catalan government at the time, Carles Puigdemont, still does not reside in Spain despite the amnesty for other Catalan politicians.
The separatist leader lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium.
He faces a separate charge of embezzlement that is not covered by the amnesty’s remit. But in the coming months, Spain’s Constitutional Court is expected to rule on whether the amnesty should also apply to this case.
Another general election is due in 2027 and Puigdemont retains support in some circles in Catalonia, where polls suggest that support for independence has waned somewhat in the years following the referendum attempt.
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