Was Spain's amnesty law condemned by 16 countries and the EU?
Viral posts and media coverage claimed that 16 European countries had taken a stand criticising Spain's amnesty law. Others said the European Commission even labelled it a "democratic anomaly." Is this true?
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/09/29/was-spains-amnesty-law-condemned-by-16-countries-and-the-eu
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00:00No, Spain's amnesty law was not condemned by 16 countries and the EU.
00:07Did 16 European countries unite to condemn Spain's amnesty law?
00:11And did the European Commission label Spain's system of appointing the Attorney General a democratic anomaly?
00:17The answer is no, as both claims are false.
00:19A viral claim said that 16 European countries had jointly released a statement against Spain's amnesty law
00:25and demanded the suspension of EU funds to Spain, similar to Hungary's case.
00:30This refers to a controversial measure approved in 2023 to pardon politicians, activists and officials involved in the Catalan independence process.
00:37These posts have been circulating since at least 2023, resurfacing again in 2025.
00:43They all share the same wording, but none names the countries supposedly involved, nor do they include links, documents or news reports.
00:50Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has no record of such a statement,
00:54and the EU Council's press office confirmed that no request of this kind was ever presented.
00:58Meanwhile, politician Cucca Gamarra from the opposition party Partido Popular claimed that the Commission's rule of law report
01:04called Spain's system for appointing the Attorney General a democratic anomaly.
01:08Que los informes del Estado de Derecho han establecido, que es una anomalĂa democrática el sistema que tenemos de nombramiento del fiscal general del Estado,
01:17que le hace depender directamente del gobierno.
01:19She added that the government's influence over the post undermines judicial independence.
01:25This claim spread in interviews and media coverage, but it does not match what the EU report actually says.
01:30The European Commission's latest rule of law report, published in July 2025, does not use the term democratic anomaly.
01:36Instead, it notes that some interested parties have raised concerns about reforms to the prosecutor's office.
01:42According to the Commission, the report only reflects those opinions, and it itself does not label Spain's system in that way.
01:49It also includes recommendations such as continuing to strengthen the independence of the Attorney General,
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