Thanks to pressure from Esquerra, the Council of Europe has reassessed the Spanish state, addressing issues such as the use of Pegasus spyware, the application of the Amnesty Law, and relations between the Spanish administration and Catalonia

Political polarisation must not preclude respect for the rule of law, the separation of powers, and constructive institutional dialogue. That is the initial preliminary conclusion of the periodic review by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that Spain faced in November.

Spain is not one of the states under permanent monitoring by the Council of Europe, which evaluates compliance with democratic standards, human rights and the rule of law. However, thanks to pressure from Esquerra Republicana, it has been selected for monitoring this year.

During their visit to Barcelona and Madrid, in which the Council of Europe rapporteurs met with judges, members of the Catalan and central government, political leaders and representatives of civil society, they addressed issues such as the use of Pegasus spyware, the application of the Amnesty Law, and the relations between the Spanish administration and Catalonia.

In this first partial release of the report, which will be published in full during the first half of 2026, the Council of Europe warns of “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”.