More than two years late, the Congress of Deputies has formed the official secrets commission, the only forum where you can talk about the activities of the National Intelligence Center (CNI). It has been necessary to uncover the ‘Catalangate’, a supposed espionage to more than 60 leaders and Basque and Catalan independence activists during 2017 and 2019. The proposal, insufficient for the sovereignist parties, has come as an attempt by the Government to placate the anger of its partners and has even required a change in the Congress regulations.
Until now, the members of the control commission of the credits destined to reserved expenses – as it is officially called – had to be elected by three fifths of the Chamber (210 deputies). However, the crossed vetoes have prevented it and the president of Congress, Meritxell Batethas reduced that majority to 176 votes needed. With this figure in mind, this Thursday the Congress proceeded to vote -secretly, with a ballot and in a ballot box- to elect the 10 deputies who will make up the commission. The leaders of PSOE, PP, VOX, United We Can, cs Y GNP have exceeded 270 votes, while those of CKD, Bildu, togetherY cup They have stayed between 185 and 186.
This is the spokesperson for the PSOE in the Congress of Deputies since Pedro Sánchez restructured the party and placed the ex-spokeswoman Adriana Lastra as deputy general secretary of the PSOE.
She has been the spokesperson for the PP in Congress since 2020, when she replaced Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo in office. For a few weeks now, she has also been the general secretary of the party with the arrival of the newly elected conservative leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
Ivan Espinosa de los Monteros (Vox)
Linked to Vox since its foundation, Iván Espinosa de los Monteros has been the spokesperson for the ultra party in Congress since the formation burst into the Lower House after the 2019 elections. He is part of the leadership of the far-right formation.
Pablo Echenique (United We Can)
Pablo Echenique has been a spokesperson for United We Can since January 2020, when the current legislature began. In addition, he was the secretary of the Purple Organization and currently holds the secretary of Government, Institutional and Program Action.
Gabriel Rufián is the ERC spokesman in Congress. During these days he has been one of the most critical of the creation of the official secrets commission, assuring that it is “a time in which the director of the CNI tells you four jokes”.
Edmundo Bal is the spokesperson for Ciudadanos and one of the most visible faces of the orange formation during the last few months in which Inés Arrimadas has been on maternity leave after her second child.
Aitor Esteban is the spokesman for the PNV in the Congress of Deputies. He is the only member of the commission who has been part of it before. The Jeltzale leader was on the official secrets commission during the previous legislature.
Mertxe Aizpurua (EH Bildu)
The spokeswoman for EH Bildu, Mertxe Aizpurua, entered the Congress of Deputies in 2019 and now it will be the first time that her formation has representation in this commission. Deputy Jon Iñárritu, who is part of her group, is one of those spied on.
Miriam Nogueras is the spokesperson for Junts and one of the deputies who is known to have been spied on in ‘Catalangate’. She will attend the commission on behalf of the Plural group, of which the PDECat is also a part, whose spokesman, Ferran Bel, has also been spied on.
Albert Botran is a CUP deputy and is part of the mixed group in Congress. In addition, he is the last of four active state parliamentarians revealed to have been spied on through the Pegasus program.