The president of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, reiterated this Tuesday that the Executive is obliged to submit to the control of both the Congress and the Senate when both chambers demand it, and that "it must do so in a timely manner." In this regard, he emphasized that "we live in a bicameral system."
He also warned that the ministers' refusal to attend the Upper House could lead to "at least" a "conflict" between "constitutional bodies" if "any parliamentary group urges it and has sufficient support in the plenary vote."
In an interview on 13TV, reported by Europa Press, he stated that "I think it is very good that they appear in our sister chamber (Congress), but we live in a parliamentary system in which there are General Courts in a bicameral system."
The PP, with an absolute majority in the Senate, had initially called the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, to attend this Wednesday, August 12; the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, on Thursday, August 13; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, on Monday, August 17. However, the Government rejected those dates, arguing that the three had already committed to appear at the end of the month in Congress.
Rollán expressed his disagreement with the Executive speaking of "duplication" and explained that, in Robles' case, the Minister of Defense sent a letter in which she expressed her "willingness to find another date compatible" with her schedule.
As he indicated, the minister's argument was "sufficiently important," as she was scheduled to travel to a barracks in the Community of Madrid to "get informed about the development of the action being carried out by the Armed Forces units in Ceuta."
For this reason, the PP announced that Robles' appearance in the Upper House was finally set for Tuesday, August 18. However, the Government does not yet consider that appointment closed. Sources from the Executive have indicated that a "response to the aforementioned request will be given throughout tomorrow" (Wednesday).
When asked whether the Senate had received any notification from Defense, Rollán stated that "no type of communication" had arrived. "The last information remains valid, since no one has conveyed 'Hey, the 18th (of August) is not possible because I will be in such a place,'" he pointed out.
In any case, the president of the Senate has stated that it would be "very bad news" if none of the three ministers finally attended the Upper House, since, in his opinion, "in some way they position themselves in a state of rebellion with one of the two chambers that make up the Cortes Generales."
Rollán has also emphasized that "more than two weeks have already passed and I believe that it is already a more than reasonable time for the gentlemen ministers to have had time to prepare their appearance."