Sanchez On Course For Investiture As EU Assess Catalan Amnesty Doc

The investiture vote for acting PM Pedro Sanchez is underway in the Congress of Deputies, with the incumbent since 2018 set for another term in office following his amnesty agreement with pro-Catalan independence parties. The agreement - which gives amnesty to those involved in the illegal 2017 Catalan independence referendum - has come amid significant controversy, and the investiture vote is unlikely to mark an end to Spain's recent political upheaval.

• European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has stated that while he is not "concerned" with the agreement, the EU will review the text. Reynders: "Now that we have the text, we’ll have such an assessment, and then I will have a contact with the Spanish government...The goal is to have a dialogue and to be sure that we are on track."
• The opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) has requestedthe EU step in and stop the implementation of the deal, claiming that it violates the Spanish constitution. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo: "We understand that as a member of the EU we have the right to ask the EU to enforce the laws in all member states. The EU has mechanisms to ensure member states enforce its treaties, we understand that we are in a situation not radically different from those countries [under Art.7 infringement proceedings].”
• Even after the investiture vote concludes on 16 Nov, the Sanchez gov't will find it difficult to govern given its razor-thin majority and wide split of ideologies present on the left-right and unionist-separatist spectrum.