Spanish Justice Minister Félix Bolaños and Partido Popular’s (PP) Vice-Secretary for Institutional Action, Esteban González Pons, will meet again on Monday in Brussels with EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders to facilitate discussions on the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ).
The CGPJ is Spain’s highest judicial body, which has been acting on a temporary basis for more than five years.
A second meeting between the two leaders will take place on Monday, immediately after the European Commission publishes the results of the progress achieved, according to sources in the European Commission.
After the first meeting on 31 January, Reynders, the broker of the talks, praised the “commitment” of both sides to progress in the stalled dialogue. The EU Commission believes it is crucial to reach an agreement before next June’s European elections, setting March as the preferred deadline for a final solution.
Bolaños then promised to “work hard” before restoring some “normality” to the CGPJ, Spain’s highest judicial body, whose extension has been blocked ever since.
Since this year, the CGPJ has been operating on an interim basis, which has been detrimental to the functioning of the entire judicial system, causing numerous delays and problems in resolving several pending court cases.
