The European Union’s highest court ruled Thursday that a controversial Spanish law granting amnesty to participants in Catalonia’s independence drive does not breach EU regulations, delivering a significant political victory for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Catalan allies.
Approved by the Spanish parliament in 2024, the measure formed part of a pact between the ruling Socialists and Catalan pro-independence parties that secured Sánchez’s investiture in late 2023. The conservative opposition mounted multiple unsuccessful challenges to the legislation.
The Court “does not oppose a law which, in order to reduce institutional and political tensions and facilitate a process of reconciliation, provides for the extinction of criminal liability,” stated Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The ruling affirmed that the adoption and implementation of the law fall squarely within Spain’s national competence.
The amnesty stands as the signature legislative achievement of Sánchez’s second term, a tenure complicated by the minority government’s struggles to pass legislation and corruption scandals implicating his party and inner circle.
Ruling May Ease Tensions Between Socialists and Separatists
The decision may help defuse friction between the Socialists and the Catalan separatist party Junts, which withdrew its parliamentary support last year, partly citing the incomplete application of the amnesty law.
Justice Minister Félix Bolaños welcomed the judgment.
“All Spaniards, without exception, benefit from the amnesty law,” he stated, urging its full implementation regarding senior separatist leaders.
Oriol Junqueras, leader of the pro-independence ERC party which backs Sánchez’s government, hailed the ruling but criticized judicial reluctance to fully apply the law, including in his own case, deeming the victory incomplete.
However, the CJEU objected to a specific provision, ruling that Spanish courts cannot be forced to lift financial liabilities or suspend preliminary proceedings within a rigid two-month deadline while broader EU legal questions remain pending.
According to the Catalan civil society group Òmnium Cultural, more than 300 individuals out of an estimated 1,600 potential beneficiaries have received amnesty for criminal and administrative offenses linked to the separatist drive since 2011 and the 2017 secession attempt.
Catalan Leader Hails ‘Resounding Victory,’ Potential Return to Spain
Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont remained upbeat, describing the ruling as a “resounding victory” for the independence movement that “leaves no loophole through which our victory can be disputed,” and urged the movement to press forward.
The judgment could pave the way for Puigdemont, the Junts leader living in self-imposed exile in Belgium, to return to Spain without facing immediate arrest or prosecution.
However, the Spanish judge overseeing Puigdemont’s case has previously argued the amnesty does not cover him, as he also faces embezzlement charges related to the use of public funds for the unauthorized 2017 independence referendum.
Puigdemont denies the allegations and has appealed to Spain’s Constitutional Court, which is expected to rule in September or October.
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