Is there any substance to the stories?
A collection of independent and international reports
"Spain has the democratic maturity, the institutions and a vibrant population to reverse the trend and stand up to corruption, including grand corruption" Transparency International
Overview
"Spain is the only large economy in Europe that does not have an access to information law. This makes it hard for citizens and civil society to find out what the government is doing on issues ranging from public spending to procurement."
"The funding of political parties is particularly opaque, leading to a series of scandals in the past decade. Political parties receive about 90 per cent of their financing from the public treasury."
Interestingly, there is currently no recognised translation of the word whistleblower into Spanish. In fact whistleblowing as a culture and practice is underdeveloped in Spain. There are no specific laws to protect whistleblowers and despite pressure from the EU, political will do introduce them is weak. Here is an EU funded briefing paper on the subject.
Recommended improvements
The Council of Europe's GRECO reports on Spain deliver recommendations on members of parliament, judges and prosecutors:
- 2018 Jan - Interim compliance report on Spain
- 2013 Jul - 2nd compliance report on Spain
- 2003 Oct - 1st compliance report on Spain
Transparency International have presented a number of proposals and recommended improvements: