Spain fails to comply with all Council of Europe anti-corruption recommendations
The State partially fails to comply with sixteen of the nineteen measures and fully with the remaining three.
BarcelonaA wake-up call from the Council of Europe. The latest report by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) finds that Spain continues to fail to comply—fully or partially—with the 19 recommendations for combating corruption it presented in 2019. However, the anti-corruption body acknowledges some progress, although it regrets that these have not yet been fully implemented. Specifically, it establishes partial non-compliance for 16 of the 19 recommendations and total non-compliance for the remaining three. By 2023, six measures had not yet been addressed by the Spanish government.
Despite this figure, the Spanish government has highlighted the progress made since the 2019 report. In a statement, the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Parliamentary Relations emphasized that the evaluations by GRECO—a body under the Council of Europe—have "constantly" improved. Furthermore, they emphasize that the body has recognized the "efforts" of initiatives such as the Action Plan for Democracy, born from Sánchez's desire to lead a "democratic regeneration" after he announced he would continue in the Moncloa Palace after a few days of reflection. This report still does not take into account the anti-corruption measures proposed by Sánchez after the Koldo case implicated Santos Cerdán.
El Greco insists that progress in Spain is not sufficient and has been demanding changes for six years. For this reason, the Council of Europe body has asked the State to submit a new report by June 30, 2026, detailing further progress. The Popular Party also criticized the results. PP sources assure that the report could not have been "more devastating." "It is not unusual that a government deeply affected by corruption like Sánchez's does not want to lift a finger to eliminate it," they say. For this reason, the Popular Party has called for elections again.
The two axes of the report
The Greco report focuses on two fronts: first, it studies the prevention of corruption in the central government, and second, it examines the integrity of the security forces. Regarding the government, the Council of Europe considers 8 of the 10 recommendations to be partially implemented and positively assesses progress such as the approval of the draft law on transparency and integrity of interest groups and welcomes the future limitation of the so-called revolving doors. However, it regrets that no measures have been initiated to reform the special procedure of the system of criminal liability of members of the government, the so-called capacity.
Regarding corruption prevention and promoting the integrity of state law enforcement agencies, the report finds "persistent deficiencies," despite progress on nine of the 10 proposed measures. "The National Police has carried out risk assessments and oversight actions, but a specific anti-corruption strategy is still lacking," says El Greco. The report also notes that the 2013 Code of Conduct still lacks practical implementation measures, and discretionary recruitment and appointments still require greater transparency.