Was Spain's amnesty law condemned by 16 countries and the EU?

A question of viral claims has brought Spain’s 2023 amnesty law, which sparked contention erstwhile introduced, backmost into the spotlight.

A bid of posts initially posted successful 2023, claiming that 16 European countries issued a connection against Spain’s amnesty law, person resurfaced. Other resurfaced claims announced the EU itself labelled Spain’s strategy for appointing the lawyer wide a "democratic anomaly."

However, some claims are false. Fact-checkers confirmed that nary specified connection was made, and the European Commission’s Rule of Law study ne'er utilized specified wording. It did enactment concerns raised by extracurricular stakeholders.

What is Spain's amnesty law?

Spain’s amnesty law, which was approved successful 2023, granted ineligible pardons to politicians, activists, and officials progressive successful the Catalan independency process and related protests since 2012.

Its extremity was supposedly to trim governmental tensions and pave the mode for dialog betwixt the Spanish authorities and Catalan separatist groups.

Supporters argued it was a measurement toward reconciliation and stability. However, critics said it undermined the regularisation of law, created unequal attraction successful judicial processes, and was utilized arsenic a governmental bargaining instrumentality to unafraid parliamentary enactment for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

One mendacious assertion stated that 16 European countries had issued a associated connection against this law, demanding that EU funds beryllium suspended. Versions of the rumour besides alleged that Sánchez had ordered Spanish media to suppress the matter.

The communicative dispersed crossed Facebook, TikTok, and different platforms, usually successful the aforesaid wording.

But these posts ne'er elaborate which 16 countries supposedly signed the statement, ne'er linked to immoderate authoritative document, and ne'er cited reliable quality sources.

The azygous repetition of the aforesaid substance suggested coordinated copy-paste sharing alternatively than credible reporting. In fact, the assertion resurfaced aggregate times betwixt precocious 2023 and 2025, gaining traction whenever the amnesty instrumentality appeared successful nationalist debate.

But this assertion turned retired to beryllium false. Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told fact-checkers astatine Maldita.es that it had ne'er received specified a connection and had nary grounds of it.

The property bureau of the Council of the European Union besides confirmed (both successful 2023 and again successful 2025) that nary specified petition had ever been submitted.

Further checks connected the authoritative websites and societal media accounts of the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council revealed nary hint of the alleged statement.

Nor did Spanish oregon planetary media study thing of the sort. This lack of sources and the nonstop denials from authoritative institutions supply beardown grounds that the assertion astir 16 countries taking enactment against Spain was fabricated.

The 2nd mendacious assertion stated that the European Commission’s Rule of Law reports had declared Spain’s strategy for appointing the lawyer wide a “democratic anomaly."

This operation was publically utilized by Cuca Gamarra, of the absorption enactment Partido Popular. She suggested that European institutions themselves had formally condemned Spain’s strategy arsenic undemocratic, thereby adding planetary value to home opposition.

This assertion gained traction successful governmental debates and media coverage, but was not backed up by evidence. The Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law study does sermon Spain’s authoritative system, particularly reforms to the statute of the lawyer general, but it does not usage the word "democratic anomaly" anywhere.

Instead, it records that immoderate "interested parties", specified arsenic associations, NGOs, oregon different observers, had raised concerns astir risks to independency from authorities influence.

In different words, the study summarised outer opinions alternatively than issuing a ceremonial EU judgment.

The European Commission’s property bureau besides confirmed that the study ne'er described Spain’s assignment strategy arsenic a "democratic anomaly." What the study does urge is that Spain proceed strengthening the independency of the lawyer general, though it does not necessitate separating the mandate from that of the government.