The amendment to Article 133 of the regulations, which was adopted by 145 votes in favor and 113 votes against, allows the Board to decide whether or not the urgency procedure will be applied to bills.
The Senate has given the green light to take into account the reform of the House Rules, which could delay the entry into force of a possible amnesty law after its final approval in the plenary next Tuesday.
The amendment made by the PP to Article 133 of the regulations, which was adopted by 145 votes in favor and 113 against, enables the Board to decide whether or not the urgency procedure will be applied to bills.
In this way, if the amnesty initiative needs to be processed urgently (maximum twenty days), the new regulation could do so in a normal way and the deadlines could be extended to two months if so deemed.
In defense of the PP reform, Senator Eloy Súarez Lamata has assured that his group’s proposal aims to increase the power and autonomy of the Senate, and in particular to improve the quality of legislation, he has argued.
And he has justified this by emphasizing that if ‘the deliberative element’ in these bills is suppressed, as is now happening, ‘democracy will be done a disservice, because what is violated is the principle of legality and the patio, so that the rule of the law has been violated.
He said this referring to the controversial negotiations between the PSOE and Junts over the amnesty and the altercations on the streets.
From the socialist group, which has announced an appeal against the constitutionality against this reform, Francisco Fajardo has attacked the PP for acting “in fraud of the law” and pointed out that this consideration should not have taken place, an idea in which he emphasized the group’s spokesperson, Eva Granados, via social networks: “A new attack by the PP is being carried out in the Senate.”
The PSOE has presented a reconsideration proposal signed by all groups except the PP and the Mixed Party, in which it denounces that it is unconstitutional for the Senate to decide on the procedure for considering bills declared urgent in Congress.
Equally critical of the popular initiative have been Catalan independentists, starting with the ERC, whose representative, Enric Morera, has expressed concern that it pursues more “political objectives” than an interest in improving the quality of the Senate .
Josep Lluís Cleries, from Junts, has urgently demanded an amnesty law “not to forgive anything, but to redress the injustice committed against the peaceful Catalan independence movement.”
On behalf of the Basque group, Estefanía Beltrán has described the reform as “swallowing” and as a demonstration that PP is using this Chamber “to serve its interests under the pretext of defending Spain”, an opinion shared by BNG senator María Carmen Silva, who accused the Council of acting “on orders from Genoa”.
They all agreed to condemn the PP for implementing this major reform in a hasty manner and without communicating the correct information to the groups.
At the other extreme, the Vox senator, Paloma Gómez, detailed that the alternative proposal they presented aims to allow one or more senators to request reports when a bill comes out of the House of Representatives, and took the opportunity to support the mobilization. “permanently” both on the streets and in the institutions against the amnesty.
María del Mar Caballero, from UPN, has backed the PP initiative after criticizing an amnesty law that will “turn the country upside down”.
Source: EITB
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
