A three-way agreement to unblock the amnesty law
The PSOE, ERC and Junts closed an agreement at the last minute on Wednesday that will allow the amnesty law to be unblocked and approved this Thursday in the Justice Committee and in the coming days in the full Congress. This tripartite agreement retouches the crime of terrorism, which remains excluded from the law, in such a way that no references are made to the Spanish penal code and it is based on European standards, a condition that was already there in the last version of the law that Congress rejected just a month ago.
A new framework for dialogue and agreement
The Minister of the Presidency and of Justice, Félix Bolaños, who is in charge of the negotiations, has celebrated the agreement and has affirmed that it closes a stage of conflict, tension and the breakdown of coexistence. In addition, he emphasized that the amnesty law will not only benefit the leaders of the process and the police, but will benefit Catalonia, the whole of Spain, coexistence and reconciliation. Likewise, he has affirmed that the amnesty will become an international benchmark.
An agreement based on international recommendations
Talks between the parties have intensified following the opinion of the Venice Commission, which endorses the amnesty law. Minister Bolaños has emphasized that some recommendations of the international body have been incorporated into the law, which is considered a European law and will be better understood in the coming years. Thus, with this agreement, another stone is placed in the building of coexistence and reconciliation.
A law that respects the Constitution
The minister remarked that the amnesty law is a law that transcends a simple agreement, since it has been agreed in accordance with European directives, European standards and the Constitution. In addition, he assured that the law entered being constitutional and will leave it being constitutional. He has also expressed his confidence that there will be an agreement for the budgets.
The role of the courts
The minister has recalled that it is the judges who will have the last word and has affirmed that the will of the government is for all the people involved in the process to be amnestied. Once it has been published in the Official State Gazette, the amnesty law will pass into the hands of the courts, which will have to interpret and apply it.
The road to reconciliation
Despite the differences between the negotiators, the minister highlighted the ability to reach agreements and affirmed that this agreement opens a new stage of dialogue and agreement within the Constitution. With the amnesty, the normalization of social and institutional life in Catalonia is sought, as well as coexistence and reconciliation.
