Source: Politico
“A political struggle over Spain’s future is spilling onto the EU stage as socialist allies of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hit back at European conservatives, who accuse him of undermining the rule of law in the bloc via an amnesty offer for Catalan separatists. Following months of political stalemate since a July election, Sanchez announced last week he would seek to form a minority government backed by the Catalan separatist Junts party, whose leader Carles Puigdemont has been living in exile in Belgium since leading a failed independence bid in 2017. Sanchez’s willingness to amnesty Puigdemont and other convicted Catalans in exchange for Junts votes has caused an uproar in Spain, where thousands have joined protests called by the center-right Partido Popular. The head of Europe’s conservative parties, Manfred Weber, waded into the fray on Monday, accusing Sanchez of using the amnesty to weaken the independence of Spain’s judiciary.” (11/14/23)