The Supreme Court is analyzing an appeal regarding the Government's inaction in the disaster that includes Minister Teresa Ribera. If Ribera ceases to be a member of the Government of Spain, she will lose the immunity that protects her from the acts in which she has participated as a member of the Executive. In the event of being charged, this could represent a problem for the president of the Commission.
According to consulted sources, if Ribera does not resign, as demanded preventively by the PP (People's Party), the entire Commission could be at risk, as its members cannot be dismissed individually. This situation could endanger the Government as a whole, and dismissal would be the only way to remove her.
The PP and Vox have identified Ribera as the main target for assigning responsibilities in the Government. The Administrative Litigation Chamber of the High Court has requested reports from the Prosecutor's Office and the State Attorney's Office regarding the case. The political battle is intensifying and affecting the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, and Ribera's judicial future, who faces lawsuits for her management of the DANA (a type of weather phenomenon).
Ribera's designation as Vice President of the European Commission for the Clean, Just, and Competitive Transition will result in the loss of immunity regarding the DANA, as she will no longer be a minister of the Government of Spain. This situation generates uncertainty about her future in the European position. The European Commission clarifies that commissioners have immunity only in functions related to their office in the Commission.
In the past, cases like that of Salvador Illa, who lost his immunity when he left the position of minister, have set precedents. Ribera faces possible investigations for her management as Minister of Ecological Transition. Ribera's judicial situation will depend on her departure from the Spanish Government and her assumption of her role in the European Commission.
