Pablo R. SuanzesBrussels Correspondent
Brussels Correspondent
Updated Wednesday, March 27, 2024-19:42
Justice The postponement of the PP and PSOE meeting with Reynders makes the CGPJ agreement difficult and distances its mediation
CGPJ The negotiations: "We are waiting to see who gives in first"
The European Commissioner for Justice,
Didier Reynders
, will take a temporary leave without pay to campaign, as he is one of the three candidates for the general secretary of the
Council of Europe
, whose future will be decided in mid-June. This Monday, the institution, which despite its name is not part of the European Union, confirmed that the Belgian politician is one of the three qualified candidates and immediately afterwards he sent an official request to the president of the Commission, Ursula
von der Leyen
. Reynders' intention was known, but this Wednesday, the president authorized the movement with a modification compared to what was expected: the commissioner will leave his duties on April 25 and not March 30. With these additional weeks, Reynders also grants additional margin to the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), in which he has participated since January 1 as a "facilitator."
Precisely, this Wednesday the fourth meeting between Minister
Félix Bolaños
and the deputy secretary general of the PP,
Esteban González Pons
, should have taken place in Madrid, with the presence of Reynders. The first two were in Brussels and the third in Strasbourg 15 days ago, and the commissioner, in the hope of being able to settle the matter once and for all, met with the two major parties in the Spanish capital, the place where he should never have been. get out of that negotiation. However, on Monday it was announced that there would be no appointment because PP and PSOE needed more time. And the pessimism skyrocketed, since Reynders had said from the first day that he would give two months to reach an agreement. It was not a capricious date, but precisely because he planned to leave office (temporarily or permanently, depending on the result of his campaign) on March 31.
"Commissioner Reynders has informed President Von der Leyen that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe recommended him to the Parliamentary Assembly of this organization for the position of Secretary General on March 25, and therefore requested a leave without pay for the duration of the campaign, from April 25 until the day of the election of the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe," the Commission says today in an official statement.
"Having taken into account Commissioner Reynders' commitment to refrain from participating directly or indirectly in any activity related to the election campaign until April 25 and to ensure that no such activity is carried out on his behalf, as well as his safety that she will take any additional measures that may be necessary to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest, the President has granted her unpaid leave, emphasizing that during this period the relevant provisions of the Treaties and the Code of Conduct for Members of the the Commission," the document continues.
Sources close to the commissioner explain that the Spanish negotiation is obviously not the main reason for delaying his temporary departure, "but it is one of them." The veteran Belgian politician knows that his "facilitation" is the best and perhaps the only asset to achieve an agreement. He considers that he is quite close and that despite the fuss of the parties, progress has been made. For everyone, reaching an agreement implies concessions, but under the community umbrella it is easier to argue to the skeptics that there was no other choice.
The commissioner has pending inter-institutional commitments with Ukraine, the last fringes of the directive for the empowerment of consumers for the ecological transition and the problem of the CSDDD, the directive on due diligence of companies, recently overturned by Germany in one of its last phases and that he is running out of time before the end of the legislature.