Pedro Sánchez highlights the "fundamental work" of the Council of State, which "has never ceased to serve Spain in perfecting and improving our legal framework"

Headquarters of the Council of State, Madrid

Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has highlighted the "fundamental work" of an institution like the Council of State, which, during its five hundred years of existence-which will be celebrated in 2026-has witnessed the many vicissitudes of our history and, despite them, has survived everything and "has never ceased to serve Spain in perfecting and improving our legal framework."

At the inaugural plenary session of the National Commission for the Commemoration of the Fifth Centenary of the Council of State, which will have the honorary presidency of His Majesty the King, President Sánchez recalled that this institution is not a vestige of the past, but rather "is both present and future; it is proof that Spain has known how to preserve what works and, at the same time, adapt it to each historical moment"; because "what remains alive and relevant is not what stays the same, but what knows how to transform itself without losing its essence," he added.

Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The Council of State, he explained, "does not govern, but suggests; it does not decide, but guides," and, by complementing the executive power, what it does is "support, improve, and strengthen our democracy." And it is precisely in a democracy, the head of the Executive pointed out, that this body has reached its full potential, "because only in a mature democracy like ours, the most solid and longest-lasting in our history, is governance based on the obligation and also the necessity of constant listening," and "listening makes our nation stronger; it makes it better."

In addition to expressing the Executive's gratitude for the Council of State's advisory role, which he described as "not a mere formality" but rather "a guarantee" of an institution that is "a discreet yet essential pillar of the rule of law," Pedro Sánchez also emphasised its "educational role." He noted that the Council of State "teaches that shared power is better than isolated power" and that "a society that deliberates is far freer than one that improvises."

Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

He also recalled that this fifth centenary will coincide with another anniversary of enormous symbolic value, as in 2026 the 1978 Constitution will surpass the 1876 Constitution in validity, thus becoming the longest-lasting in Spanish history. "This is an extraordinary milestone for a country where freedom has always been a brief respite between tyrannies," stated Pedro Sánchez, "and the best evidence that the full and consolidated democracy we enjoy today is a conquest that no one will ever be able to take from us."

The inaugural ceremony, which also included speeches by King Felipe VI and the President of the Council of State, Carmen Calvo, was also attended by, on behalf of the Government, the First Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Treasury, María Jesús Montero, and the Minister for the Presidency, Justice and Parliamentary Relations, Félix Bolaños.

Non official translation