The disputed Spanish law granting an amnesty to those involved in Catalonia's 2017 separatist referendum does not violate European Union rules, the EU's top court ruled on Thursday.
The decision is a boost both for pardoned Catalan politicians and for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, for whom the deal was necessary in order to retain power after 2023's elections.What did the Court of Justice of the European Union rule?
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) agreed with the Spanish government's longstanding position that the amnesty was reconcilable with EU laws on the scope and limits of member state's powers when granting political amnesty.
"The court finds that the Spanish amnesty law concerns a field which falls within the competence of Member States," CJEU judge Koen Lenaerts said, in other words saying it was not a decision where Spain had to defer to EU authorities in Brussels.
Spain's Constitutional Court had also supported the law.
