The Seville Court has turned down the request from the Andalusian Government, led by the People's Party (PP), to join the political segment of the ERE case as a plaintiff. This request was made by the administration three weeks ago. The judges highlighted that the regional government had already abandoned its criminal action in this case back in 2016, making their recent legal maneuver unfeasible. This move was designed by the government to support elevating the case to the European Court of Justice following the Constitutional Court's decision to annul and reduce Supreme Court sentences.

The judges swiftly concluded their decision in a single paragraph, dismissing the government's request: "Having reviewed the previous submission by the representation of the Andalusian Government, the request is denied as they are not a party in the current case, having previously requested the proceedings to be dismissed and explicitly reserved civil actions before the trial," states the ruling from the First Section of the Court, made public on Monday.

In 2016, under Susana Díaz (PSOE), the Andalusian Government requested the case to be dismissed with a reservation of civil actions. This decision now prevents the judges from accepting the administration's drastic change in stance as it attempts to join as a plaintiff. Andalusian President Juan Manuel Moreno argued in early May that the government sought to join the political segment in order to "recover the 700 million" allocated for early retirement policies of workers in struggling Andalusian companies. To achieve this, the government believes it’s essential to bring the case before European justice, as they view the Constitutional Court’s annulment of certain convictions as unjust.

Antonio Sanz, the Andalusian Minister of the Presidency, criticized the Spanish Constitutional Court, claiming it overstepped its boundaries by encroaching on the Supreme Court's jurisdiction, which had convicted former socialist leaders of the Junta for misconduct and embezzlement: "The Constitutional Court's rulings could partially absolve the largest political corruption case in Spain, thereby hindering the Andalusian Government's ability to reclaim as much of the misappropriated ERE funds as possible."

Sanz further explained that bringing the ERE case before Luxembourg is crucial for recovering the funds: "We must be heard by the European Court of Justice (...). The government has a legitimate, undeniable interest in returning to the case and retrieving the money defrauded from the Andalusian people."

So far, of the nearly 680 million euros embezzled according to the Supreme Court, the Andalusian Government has recovered 28 million and has requested the return of 287 million as civil liability through various separate cases—unrelated to the political segment, pertaining to specific company aids.