Overview

• The Sección Primera of the Audiencia Provincial de Sevilla has scheduled three deliberation sessions on April 24, April 29, and May 13, 2025, to decide on referring a preliminary question to the EU Court of Justice.
• The court seeks to determine if the Constitutional Court overstepped by partially annulling convictions of former Andalusian leaders Manuel Chaves and José Antonio Griñán in the ERE corruption case.
• The Public Prosecutor’s Office and defense teams oppose the referral, while the PP andaluz supports the move, highlighting divisions over judicial independence and EU law supremacy.
• Judges argue that the Constitutional Court's rulings may conflict with EU anti-corruption directives, which they assert take precedence over domestic rulings.
• This legal standoff stems from the Constitutional Court’s controversial intervention, which reduced penalties for misappropriating €680 million in regional employment funds between 2000 and 2009.