The Spanish Government and Euskadi agree to toughen the law against multi-recidivism and the use of bladed weapons

The Government of Spain and the Basque Government have closed an agreement this Wednesday to promote legal changes against multi-offending and strengthen the control of bladed weapons in public spaces. The decision was adopted at the Basque Country Security Board, chaired by the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Basque Security Councilor, Bingen Zupiria.

The pact seeks to improve the criminal and procedural response to people who accumulate crimes, even if they do not yet have a firm sentence due to the slowness of the judicial procedure. Zupiria explained it with a simple idea: whoever continues to commit crimes while their case progresses in the courts must face consequences.

The change will not be automatic. The reform of the Criminal Procedure Law requires processing and majorities in Congress. The Basque Government admits this difficulty, but defends that its role now is to push the proposal together with the central Executive and seek the necessary support for it to go ahead.

The agreement also includes a modification of the Weapons Regulation to strengthen prevention, control, and sanctions for carrying or using bladed weapons in public places, especially in leisure areas or highly frequented spaces. The Interior Ministry was already working in this area and the Security Board now incorporates it into the shared roadmap with Euskadi.

The Ertzaintza gains weight in immigration, drones, and European cooperation

The meeting also brings a clear reinforcement of the role of the Ertzaintza. The Basque police will participate in a complementary way in police reports linked to expulsion procedures for foreign persons when there are elements related to security and public order in Euskadi.

The decision does not transfer the final competence over expulsions to the Ertzaintza, which remains in the hands of the National Police. What is agreed is that the information collected by the autonomous police on the street, in investigations, and in operational actions, will be incorporated into these files when relevant.

The entry of the Ertzaintza into the Single Point of Contact of the European Search Portal, a community platform for the exchange of police information, has also been agreed upon. Zupiria presented this as a strategic advance in a context where organized crime, money laundering, and criminal groups no longer operate within closed borders.

The package incorporates more areas. Euskadi will assume the reception of prior communications regarding drone operations and their general administrative management in the territory. The Ertzaintza will also be integrated into inspection plans on explosive precursors and into mechanisms linked to the SEPBLAC and the Office for the Recovery and Management of Assets.

The Basque Government wants these agreements not to remain just headlines. The Security Board will meet again within a maximum period of six months to review the degree of compliance. Zupiria has argued that the objective is a safer Euskadi and an Ertzaintza fully integrated into the spaces where the real security of citizens is at stake.

The roadmap is already signed. Now it's time to turn it into reforms, effective access, and operational changes.