28/11/2025 Monitoring
“The respect of judicial decisions is a key principle in any democracy. Political polarisation should not stand in the way of respect for the rule of law, the separation of powers and a culture of constructive institutional dialogue,” said Elvira Kovács (Serbia, EPP/CD) and Valentina Grippo (Italy, ALDE), co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the periodic review of Spain, at the end of their visit to Madrid and Barcelona (12–14 November 2025).
The co-rapporteurs thanked the national and regional authorities for their openness and co-operation throughout the visit. They expressed concern over “the risk that, even in a fully-fledged democracy like Spain, healthy public debate may be highjacked by narratives undermining trust in key institutions, especially the Supreme Court and the General Council for the Judiciary, at a time when democratic resilience is the main safeguard against the multiple threats facing Europe”. They also took note of concerns regarding “attacks against the judiciary” and the climate of tension surrounding public debate.
They encouraged Spain to continue addressing rule of law matters with determination, including discussions on judicial reforms and on the functioning of the General Council of the Judiciary, taking into account the recent recommendations of the Venice Commission. They also stressed the importance of guaranteeing the independence of the Prosecutor General and the prosecution service, and called for the swift implementation of outstanding GRECO recommendations on preventing corruption among members of parliament, judges, prosecutors, persons with ‘top executive functions’ at national level and law enforcement agencies.
During the visit, the co-rapporteurs discussed a broad range of issues, including the use of Pegasus spyware, the implementation of the Amnesty Law, relations between the central government and the Autonomous Region of Catalonia, the rights of Spanish-speaking students in the Catalan education system, the consequences of the Solo sí es sí Law, lowering sentences for sexual offenders, and reform of the Citizens’ Security Law and the Criminal Code.
Periodic reviews are carried out on all Council of Europe member states that are not under the Assembly’s full monitoring procedure or engaged in “post-monitoring dialogue” and aim to help them fulfil their commitment to uphold the highest democratic and human rights standards.
In Madrid, the co-rapporteurs met leading judges, parliamentarians and high-level government officials, as well as the leader of the Partido Popular and representatives of lawyers’, magistrates’, prosecutors’ associations and civil society. In Barcelona, they met the President and members of the Parliament of Catalonia, the Regional Government’s Counsellor of Justice and members of the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya party, among others.
They underlined that the periodic review is an ongoing and co-operative process. In this context, the co-rapporteurs plan to carry out another visit in the coming months, during which they will meet members of the Government, other institutions and representatives of civil society, who will have the opportunity to present their views and share their perspectives on the issues examined.
The full report is due to be published in in the first half of 2026.