Spain's Congress eases rules for ERC and Junts to form parliamentary groups

The Spanish Congress approved an amendment to its internal regulations that lowers the vote threshold required for a party to create its own parliamentary group. Previously, a group could be formed with at least 15 deputies or, alternatively, with five seats and either 15 % of the votes in every constituency where the party runs or 5 % nationwide. The new rule reduces the national threshold to 3 % and the constituency threshold to 10 %.

The change is aimed at the Catalan parties Esquerra Republicana (ERC) and Junts per Catalunya, which each secured five seats in the 2023 election but fell short of the previous vote percentages. The reform was supported by the governing bloc, including PSOE and Sumar, while opposition parties PP and Vox criticised it as granting privileges to a minority. The amendment comes ahead of a general election expected within the next year, ensuring that ERC and Junts can likely maintain a distinct parliamentary presence.