"Belgium must respect the decisions of the Spanish judiciary"
Why on earth is Spanish Deputy PM Carmen Calvo making public statements in a Belgian newspaper about the European Arrest Warrants... (cont.) https://plus.lesoir.be/260057/article/2019-11-13/la-belgique-doit-respecter-les-decisions-de-la-justice-espagnole?referer=%2Farchives%2Frecherche%3Fdatefilter%3Dlastyear%26sort%3Ddate%2520desc%26word%3Dcarmen%2520calvo&_ga=2.172824995.1230150608.1573677306-81402577.1573677306

issued by Spain for Brussels residents @KRLS Puigdemont, @toni_comin & @LluisPuigGordi? Her article insists for the umpteenth time on the independence of the Spanish judiciary, expresses confidence in the independence of the Belgian judiciary but makes clear that only...

decision will do for Spain. Last week, just before the Spanish general election, in a televised election debate, Spanish PM @sanchezcastejon encroached on the judicial branch by pledging, like some real-life Boba Fett, to bring Puigdemont back to Spain to face Spanish justice.

The next day, when asked in a radio interview how he aimed to deliver his promise, he claimed that the Office of the State Attorney in Spain answered to his government. "So there you go," he boasted. He later retracted this claim. Earlier in the election campaign, @carmencalvo_,

the author of the above article, insinuated that the political relationship between Spain & Belgium would be affected if @KRLS Puigdemont was not delivered to Spain: "The [Spanish] Government will not understand it if Belgium does not hand over those who have fled from justice."

"On this occasion it's more difficult [for Belgium to refuse]," she added, in allusion to the previous two European Arrest Warrants issued and withdrawn by Spanish judge Pablo Llarena, as if they were attached to the end of a yo-yo.

Also during the election campaign, Spanish Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska said in an interview that Puigdemont would be tried in Spain, "sooner rather than later."

Last but not least, and also during the election campaign, acting Spanish FM @JosepBorrellF tweeted restricted information (which he later deleted after being scolded by the @EU_Commission) about Catalan political exile @ClaraPonsati.

The interference by Spain's most senior politicians (almost half the cabinet!) in what is a strictly judicial matter is
simply breathtaking, and utterly unacceptable. For a country that has spent a lot of money in recent months, through @GlobalSpain, on boasting loudly & often...

about its democratic credentials and, crucially, its judicial independence, the publication of this article by the Spanish Deputy PM at a key moment, and in a Belgian newspaper of all things, is unfortunate to say the least,...

especially coming the day after the European Court of Justice's Advocate General issued a devastating (for Spain) legal opinion in which he stated that Catalan political prisoner and MEP @junqueras qualified for parliamentary immunity from the moment he was elected MEP.

The fact is that the Spanish judiciary (strongly encouraged by the @coe in its GRECO report today to improve aspects related to its independence) is about to be examined very closely indeed by European courts.

Ms Calvo should not be interfering. She should certainly not be commenting on judicial matters in Belgian newspapers, but it seems Spanish politicians cannot help themselves. However, the more they insist on the separation of powers in Spain, the less convincing they sound.