Three MEPs from the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group have challenged the European Union's foreign policy chief over statements by Spain's Second Deputy Prime Minister, Yolanda Díaz, who described China as making 'gradual progress and strengthening the rule of law'. The written parliamentary question, submitted on 28 April 2026, asks the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative whether she agrees with that assessment.
The MEPs — Hermann Tertsch, Jorge Buxadé Villalba and Jorge Martín Frías — point to China's Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, adopted on 12 March 2026, which they say deepens repression of ethnic, cultural and religious minorities, particularly in Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia, and targets Christian churches with forced Sinicisation. They contrast this with Díaz's remarks made on 16 April during Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's visit to China.
The question does not set numerical targets or deadlines but asks for a clear policy position: does the VP/HR endorse the Spanish government's view? The MEPs frame the issue as a test of EU coherence on human rights and rule-of-law standards in external relations.
Under European Parliament rules, the Commission and the High Representative are expected to reply within approximately six weeks. The answer will signal whether the EU's executive aligns with the Spanish Deputy PM's characterisation or distances itself from it, with implications for EU-China relations and the bloc's credibility on human rights advocacy.