Criticism in the opposition, closed defense of the left and uncertainty in the services of the Chamber. Congress launches into its first multilingual session with few certainties and many unknowns. With the rejection of the PP, the Board agreed last Wednesday that the co-official languages may now be used in the same plenary session in which the express processing of the planned reform begins, precisely, to consolidate their use in the parliamentary headquarters.. The governing body of Congress ignored the “doubts” of the Chamber's lawyers, who warned in a letter that correctly applying the new procedure in the short term was “very difficult”, if not “impossible.”. And those misgivings have not disappeared with the passing of the days. “It is pure improvisation,” maintain legal sources from Congress.
The Board, chaired by the socialist Francina Armengol, stated however that, despite its provisional nature, the system can be launched this Tuesday with guarantees.. For the moment, and to guarantee the simultaneous translation of your Honors' interventions, the earpieces acquired by the Lower House will be used to transmit into Spanish the televised speech of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in April 2022.. Regarding the hiring of translators, everything indicates that the so-called minor contracts will be chosen, that is, less than 15,000 euros, but the Board has not yet confirmed the type of agreement that will govern in the Chamber for that service..
Through a statement, sources from the Presidency of the Chamber promised to provide more technical details about the process after the Meeting of Spokespersons last Thursday, but the promise fell on deaf ears.. Another issue, about which there is hardly any information, has to do with the economic impact of the initiative.. The sources consulted from PSOE and Sumar avoid clarifying the cost of the measure, while the PP censures the lack of information just 24 hours before the plenary session begins.. They denounce that, in practice, it means launching a system paid for with public money without knowing how much that amount will amount to, and without it even being formally approved in Congress..
From the Board, they emphasize that the establishment of the system has a provisional nature and enjoys legal coverage thanks to the agreement of the majority of the body.. In the future, aspects such as whether or not to hire an own body of translators will be consolidated, and possible works will be carried out to consolidate the new modifications after the change in the regulations.. They insist that, for the moment, the translation systems will be “similar” to those that already operate in the Senate.
The PP, for its part, is now exploring all possible avenues to stop what they describe as an “illegal” maneuver and a “constitutional outrage”, without ruling out judicial avenues.. The popular ones understand that, in this situation, an appeal for unconstitutionality is possible and they cite article 3 of the Magna Carta, which establishes Spanish as the official language of the State, and article 23, which defends the rights of deputies to participate in public affairs.. Parliamentary sources from the PP exemplify that the rights of their honorable Members may be violated if, for example, there is a technical failure and there are deputies who do not understand certain interventions.. Or that possible errors due to the “precipitation” of the initiative have an impact on the transcription of the plenary sessions.
The popular members also denounce that, despite repeated requests in the body, the progressive majority of the Board has denied legal basis for the new system that will come to light this Tuesday. The same sources warn that the reform requires a comprehensive review of the Chamber's procedures that has not yet been carried out, and they also assure that specific contracts executed to safeguard the first plenary sessions may contravene the Contract Law. of the Public Sector.
The PP has taken note to begin preparing its legal framework. For now, the Popular Group presented a reconsideration letter last week that, in all likelihood, will be overturned by the Board in a meeting prior to the plenary session this Tuesday. They are open to presenting amendments to the entirety, and will explore the courts in the coming days.. “The most serious thing is that they don't even wait for the debate, not even for the approval of the norm that will regulate it.”. This is not possible in a democracy.. “Why is the regulation being reformed then?” Cuca Gamarra denounced last Thursday..
At the political level, the Genoa leadership denounces that the PSOE's “hurries” have no more meaning than a “payment” from the acting Government to its partners.. The sources consulted infer that the implementation of co-official languages was one of the demands that the nationalist and independence forces put on the table in exchange for their votes so that Francina Armengol would be the one who presided over the Congress Table.. And they also add that with the application of the system, the left seeks to “tarnish” Feijóo's investiture session.