European Commission: Shouting about Poland and Hungary, whispering about Spain

Socialist Pedro Sánchez took office in Spain on June 2, 2018, and his authoritarian drift began just a few months later.

The European Parliament denounces the Sánchez government's 'attacks on the rule of law'
Hungary and Poland yes, Spain no: the reasons for the leftist bias of the European Commission

Seven years of attacks on judicial independence in Spain

In November 2018, the Sánchez government's attacks on judicial independence began. Two years later, with a coalition government between the socialists of the PSOE and the communists of Podemos in place, these attacks turned into a full-blown assault. Since then, the Sánchez government's attacks on the separation of powers and the rule of law have not ceased, gradually increasing in intensity in the face of silence from the European institutions.

The scandalous silence of Von der Leyen's European Commission

In September 2021, when Spain had already been witnessing three years of leftist attacks on judicial independence, I published an article here denouncing the double standards of the European Union, which had initiated a full-blown political persecution against the conservative governments of Poland and Hungary, but maintained absolute silence in the face of Sánchez's attacks on Justice. I then explained the reason for this silence: the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, owes her position to the support of the Socialists, and does not seem willing to do anything that might upset her allies.

Seven years later, the European Parliament denounced Sánchez's abuses

At the end of May this year, seven years later, the European Parliament denounced Sánchez's "attacks" on the rule of law. There is a Spanish saying that says that if the wind blows, it's never too late, but having to wait seven years for such a pronouncement is maddening. However, the complaint, although late, is worthy of praise if we take into account that Von der Leyen still has not issued even the slightest criticism of Sánchez. This is not surprising, since in 2024 it was already evident that her criticism of Poland was ideologically motivated, since as soon as her friend Donald Tusk came to power in that country, European sanctions against Warsaw ceased without any of the rules that theoretically motivated them being repealed.

A Commission document criticizes Sánchez's amnesty for his partners

This morning we had some good news that seemed to be a change of trend: A Commission document came to light criticizing Sánchez's amnesty for his separatist partners. It is a document prepared by Commission lawyers in relation to the preliminary ruling initiated by the Spanish Court of Auditors before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding the aforementioned amnesty. In that document, Commission lawyers state that this measure "appears to be a self-amnesty" and is contrary to "the principle of the rule of law." This is the Commission's first critical response to the amnesty. It seemed that things were finally changing.

The Commission has backed down in a few hours and returned to its silence

Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived. This afternoon, the Commission backtracked and criticized the leak of its lawyers' document to the CJEU, stating: "this document was not intended to be public at this point in time."

Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho has poured cold water on all those who were already celebrating that Von der Leyen's cabinet finally broke its silence on Sánchez's government: "In order not to interrupt the procedures that are underway, we are not going to comment on anything about them." This is an unsustainable explanation if we take into account that for several years, the Commission vociferously pursued the conservative governments of Poland and Hungary and threatened them with all kinds of reprisals, managing to force a change of government in the Polish case. After those shouts, with Sánchez the Commission insists on speaking very softly, so much so that it can hardly be heard.

The Commission's attitude is what is causing the rise of 'Euroscepticism'

It seems that the Commission does not realize that Von der Leyen's blatant double standards with conservative governments and with Sánchez's socialist government, an evidence that at this point is impossible to deny (and even more so after the German obtained the support of the socialists for her re-election in July 2024) is causing a great loss of credibility for the European institutions in Spain. Many of us believed that in the face of such a clear attack on the rule of law, the European Union would not be able to remain silent. We were wrong.

In the end, Von der Leyen's political alliances are stronger than her supposed defense of democracy. Then don't come complaining about the rise of the so-called "Eurosceptics," as many media outlets now call those who feel discontent with the current direction of the EU: this "Euroscepticism" is being provoked by those who ally themselves with a corrupt socialist party in Brussels and then remain silent about its abuses in Spain, a silence that contrasts starkly with the voices they raised against Poland and Hungary.

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Photo: La Moncloa. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a centrist from Germany, meets with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at Moncloa Palace on July 31, 2019.