COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2026 Rule of Law Report Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Spain Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2026 Rule of Law Report The rule of law situation in the European Union
Date: 2026-07-17
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: Spain, administrative transparency, corruption, democracy, freedom of the press, human rights, independence of the judiciary, pluralism in the media, rule of law, whistleblowing

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.7.2026  SWD(2026) 909 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2026 Rule of Law Report                  Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Spain Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2026 Rule of Law Report                   The rule of law situation in the European Union {COM(2026) 900 final} - {SWD(2026) 901 final} - {SWD(2026) 902 final} - {SWD(2026) 903 final} - {SWD(2026) 904 final} - {SWD(2026) 905 final} - {SWD(2026) 906 final} - {SWD(2026) 907 final} - {SWD(2026) 908 final} - {SWD(2026) 910 final} - {SWD(2026) 911 final} - {SWD(2026) 912 final} - {SWD(2026) 913 final} - {SWD(2026) 914 final} - {SWD(2026) 915 final} - {SWD(2026) 916 final} - {SWD(2026) 917 final} - {SWD(2026) 918 final} - {SWD(2026) 919 final} - {SWD(2026) 920 final} - {SWD(2026) 921 final} - {SWD(2026) 922 final} - {SWD(2026) 923 final} - {SWD(2026) 924 final} - {SWD(2026) 925 final} - {SWD(2026) 926 final} - {SWD(2026) 927 final} - {SWD(2026) 928 final} - {SWD(2026) 929 final} - {SWD(2026) 930 final} - {SWD(2026) 931 final}  
 
 
ABSTRACT 

In Spain, steps were taken to take forward the process of adapting the appointment procedure 
for  the  Council  for  the  Judiciary’s  judges-members,  with  the  adoption  of  an  opinion  of  the 
Venice  Commission  on  two  alternative  models,  although  no  consensus  has  been  found  on 
finalising  the  process.  The  Council  for  the  Judiciary  continues  to  fulfil  its  functions  in  the 
justice  system  following  its  renewal,  including  by  proceeding  with  appointments  to  top 
judicial  positions.  A  draft  law  to  strengthen  the  statute  of  the  Prosecutor-General  is  under 
discussion  in  Parliament.  Efforts  are  being  made  to  increase  the  resources  of  the  justice 
system, including the creation of 700 positions for judges and prosecutors and the launch of 
the  recruitment  process.  Work  to  further  improve  the  already  high  level  of  digitalisation  of 
justice  continued,  while  the  limited  interoperability  between  national  and  regional  case 
management  systems  remains  a  challenge.  The  implementation  of  the  new  law  on  the 
efficiency of justice is already showing positive results, though there are challenges linked to 
resources  and  consistency  of  implementation  across  regions.  The  duration  of  court 
proceedings remains a challenge.  

The Government has adopted a State Anti-Corruption Plan, as well as several key draft laws 
and  strategic  documents.  To  address  challenges  related  to  the  length  of  investigations  and 
prosecutions  of  high-level  corruption  cases,  the  Government  has  made  reform  and  staffing 
efforts. Initiatives continue to address gaps in the legislative framework and in enforcement 
of foreign bribery. A draft law has been prepared with the view of reinforcing the Council for 
Transparency and Good Governance. The draft Open Administration Law seeks to establish a 
comprehensive regime for the prevention of conflicts of interest in the public sector. With the 
preliminary draft Organic Law on Public Integrity pending adoption, the rules on conflicts of 
interest  and  asset  declarations  of  persons  in  top  executive  functions  have  not  yet  been 
strengthened.  The  draft  Law  on  the  Transparency  and  Integrity  of  the  Activities  of  Interest 
Groups has not yet been adopted by Parliament. Shortcomings remain regarding compliance 
with transparency obligations related to political party financing. The Independent Authority 
for Whistleblower Protection started operating with some budgetary and staffing constraints. 
Public procurement remains an area vulnerable to corruption risks.  

Reforms continue to strengthen the regulatory framework, including enhanced resources for 
the  national  regulator  to  carry  out  its  supervisory  functions  effectively.  Risks  related  to 
editorial  independence  and  political  interference  in  publicly  owned  radio  and  television 
broadcasters are flagged by stakeholders. As the adoption of new legislation is still pending, 
concerns regarding ownership transparency of media other than audiovisual media services, 
video sharing platforms and influencers remain. The reform of the legal framework for state 
advertising  is  advancing,  although  challenges  remain.  The  Government’s  approval  of  the 
draft  Laws  on  Classified  Information  and  Open  Administration  aims  to  strengthen  the 
framework for access to information. Work on related legislative proposals continues, while 
challenges regarding working conditions and safety of journalists persist, including online. 

On  16  July  2026,  the  Court  of  Justice  has  delivered  two  judgments  following  preliminary 
ruling requests on the Amnesty Law and other requests for a preliminary ruling are pending 
before  the  Court  of  Justice.  Steps  have  been  taken  in  promoting  public  participation  in 
policymaking and a culture that fosters rule of law. The two draft laws aimed at respectively 
amending  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  including  as  regards  popular  action  in  criminal 
investigations, and reforming the Citizen Security Law, are still pending in Parliament.  

1 

 
 
 
RECOMMENDATIONS 

Overall, based on the recommendations in  the 2025 Rule of Law Report, considering other 
developments  that  took  place  in  the  period  of  reference,  and  in  addition  to  recalling  the 
relevant commitments made under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the country-specific 
recommendation  under  the  European  Semester  on  the  efficiency  of  the  justice  system,  the 
Commission concludes the following:  

•  Some further progress was made on adapting the procedure for appointing the Council for 
the  Judiciary’s  judges-members,  as  the  Council  obtained  guidance  from  the  Venice 
Commission, but no consensus has been found on finalising the process. Since a reform 
remains  to  be  adopted,  it  is  recommended  to  Spain  to  take  forward  the  process  of 
adapting the appointment procedure of the Council for the Judiciary’s judges-members, 
taking  into  account  European  standards  on  Councils  for  the  Judiciary,  including  the 
guidance of the Venice Commission on how to improve the current system. 

•  Significant  progress  was  made  to  strengthen  the  statute  of  the  Prosecutor  General,  as  a 
reform  of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure  is  under  discussion  in  Parliament.  Since  the 
reform remains to be adopted, it is recommended to Spain to continue ongoing efforts to 
strengthen the statute of the Prosecutor General, in particular regarding the separation 
of the terms of office of the Prosecutor General from that of the Government, taking into 
account European standards on independence and autonomy of the prosecution. 

•  Some progress was made to address the length of investigations and prosecutions of high-
level corruption cases due to efforts to increase staffing and due to the tabled reform of 
the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure.  Since  challenges  remain  and  the  draft  legislation  to 
increase efficiency is still under discussion in Parliament, it is recommended to Spain to 
take  forward  the  legislative  process  to  revise  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure  to 
strengthen  the  framework  for  investigations  and  prosecutions  in  high-level  corruption 
cases, with a view to reducing delays. 

•  Limited  progress  was  made  to  strengthen  the  rules  on  conflicts  of  interest  and  asset 
declarations of persons in top executive functions. Given that the draft Organic Law on 
Public Integrity has been tabled and the State Anti-Corruption Plan has been adopted, but 
practical  implementation  of  the  existing  rules  has  not  improved,  it  is  recommended  to 
Spain  to  take forward the legislative process  to strengthen rules on conflicts of  interest 
and asset declarations of persons with top executive functions, and ensure independence 
and effective detection and sanctioning powers of the competent supervisory body. 

•  Limited  progress  was  made  on  lobbying,  as  the  draft  Law  on  the  Transparency  and 
Integrity of the Activities of Interest Groups has not yet been adopted by Parliament. It is 
recommended  to  Spain  to  continue  the  ongoing  procedure  to  adopt  legislation  on 
lobbying, including the establishment of a mandatory public register of lobbyists. 

•  Significant  progress  was  made  on  strengthening  access  to  information,  in  particular  via 
the  revision  of  the  Law  on  Official  Secrets.  Therefore,  it  is  recommended  to  Spain  to 
complete the work on strengthening access to information, in particular via the adoption 
of the Law on Official Secrets and the Law on Open Administration, taking into account 
European standards on access to official documents. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
I. 

JUSTICE SYSTEM1  

Independence  

The level of perceived judicial independence in Spain is now average among the general 
public and remains average among companies. Overall, 40% of the general population and 
46%  of  companies  perceive  the  level  of  independence  of  courts  and  judges  to  be  ‘fairly  or 
very  good’  in  20262.  The  perceived  judicial  independence  among  the  general  public  has 
slightly increased in comparison with 2025 (39%), as well as in comparison with 2022 (38%). 
The  perceived  judicial  independence  among  companies  has  increased  in  comparison  with 
2025 (40%), as well as in comparison with 2022 (41%). 

There was some further progress on the recommendation to take forward the process of 
adapting  the  appointment  procedure  of  the  Council  for  the  Judiciary’s  judges-
members3. In February 2025, the Council for the Judiciary had adopted a proposal regarding 
the  election  of  the  judges-members,  presenting  two  alternative  models:  one  model  where 
judicial members would be directly chosen by judges, and another where this would still  be 
done by Parliament4. Following a request from the Council for the Judiciary, on 13 October 
2025, the Venice Commission adopted an Opinion on the matter5. As regards the first model, 
it considered it in line with the Council of Europe standard of peer election, as judges would 
directly elect the Council’s judicial members. However, according to the Venice Commission 
the  risk  of  internal  politicisation  should  not  be  overlooked,  especially  where  judicial 
associations  may  exert  significant  influence  over  nominations  and  campaigning,  potentially 
shaping  the  election  process.  As  regards  the  second  model,  the  Venice  Commission  noted 
that it would not be in line with the Council of Europe standard of peer election, taking the 
view  that  in  addition  to  the  internal  risks  of  politicisation  of  the  first  model,  it  makes  the 
procedure vulnerable to external politicisation in Parliament6. A parliamentary group lodged 
two draft laws in Parliament to reform the Organic Law on the Judiciary7, proposing a system 
of peer-election of the judges-members of the Council for the Judiciary8. Some stakeholders 
continue  to  call  for  further  legislative  steps  to  address  the  existing  concerns  related  to  the 

1  An overview of the institutional framework for all four pillars can be found here. 
2   Figures 48 and 50, 2026 EU Justice Scoreboard and Figures  51 and 53, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. The 
level  of  perceived  judicial  independence  is  categorised  as  follows:  very  low  (below  30%  of  respondents 
perceive judicial independence as fairly good and very good); low (between 30-39%), average (between 40-
59%), high (between 60-75%), very high (above 75%). 

3  The 2025 Rule of Law Report recommended Spain to: “[t]ake forward the process in view of adapting the 
appointment  procedure  of  the  Council  for  the  Judiciary’s  judges-members,  taking  into  account  European 
standards on Councils for the Judiciary”. On this recommendation, no progress was assessed in 2023, and 
significant progress in 2024 and 2025. 

4   2025 Rule of Law Report, Spain, p. 3, footnote 4. 
5  Council  of  Europe:  Venice  Commission  (2025).  While  the  Venice  Commission  recalls  that  there  is  no 
standard  model,  the opinion  assesses  how  the  European  standards  concerning  the  election  of  members of 
judicial  councils  may  be  integrated  into  Spain’s  judicial  organisation,  recalling  that  no  less  than  half  the 
members of judicial councils should be judges elected by their peers. See also Recommendation CM/Rec 
2010(12). 

6   Moreover,  according  to  the  Venice  Commission,  in  this  model  “Parliament  is  given  broad  discretion  in 
selecting candidates,  without clear criteria or an obligation to provide adequate  reasons. […]  Overall, the 
pre-election  of  the  judicial  members  of  the  judicial  council  by  the  judges  is  valuable,  but  insufficient  to 
meet  the  peer  election  standard,  because  it  is  followed  by  their  political  election”.  Additionally,  the 
availability of an effective legal remedy to challenge appointments remains  uncertain, and the model lacks 
adequate anti-deadlock mechanisms. Council of Europe: Venice Commission, (2025), p. 16. 

7  Organic Law 6/1985, of 1 July, on the Judiciary. 
8  Congress (2025a), tabled on 24 October 2025 and Senate (2025), tabled on 6 November 2025.  

3 

 
 
 
current  system  of  appointment  of  Council’s  members9.  Overall,  some  further  progress  has 
been  made  on  the  recommendation  in  the  2025  Rule  of  Law  Report:  the  Council  for  the 
Judiciary requested and obtained guidance from the Venice Commission, and the process to 
adapt the appointment procedure of the judges-members has been introduced into Parliament. 
However, significant further steps are needed to find a consensus on finalising the process to 
adapt the appointment procedure of the judges-members, based on the guidance of the Venice 
Commission on how to improve the current system. 

The  Council  for  the  Judiciary  continues  to  fulfil  its  functions  in  the  justice  system 
following its renewal in 2024, including by proceeding with appointments to top judicial 
positions. Since its renewal in July 2024, the Council for the Judiciary has been able to make 
196 appointments to top judicial positions10, most of them with a broad consensus11, thereby 
positively impacting on the work of the justice system as a whole. Stakeholders have raised 
concerns  about  the  influence  of  other  elements  beyond  merit  and  capacity  on  the 
appointments  to  top  judicial  positions,  while  the  Council  for  the  Judiciary  states  that  such 
appointments are carried out in an objective and reasoned manner12.  

There was significant progress on the recommendation to strengthen the statute of the 
Prosecutor  General,  with  a  draft  law  under  discussion  in  Parliament13.  On  30  October 
2025,  the  Government  tabled  a  reform  of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  which  includes 
new  provisions  on  the  statute  of  the  Prosecutor  General14.  It  comprises  two  key  initiatives, 
proposing that the Prosecutor General serves a non-renewable five-year term that would no 
longer  coincide  with  the  Government’s  term,  and  that  the  responsibility  for  conducting 
criminal  investigations  would shift  from  judges to  prosecutors. The latter  aims to  make the 
criminal  process  more  effective  by  placing  the  criminal  investigation  phase  under  the 
direction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The reform also provides that, prior to dismissing 
the  Prosecutor  General  for  serious  or  repeated  failure  to  perform  his  or  her  duties,  the 
Government  must  seek  the  opinion  of  the  Council  for  the  Judiciary.  Given  the  envisaged 
transfer of tasks from judges to prosecutors, stakeholders emphasise the need to reinforce the 
human and material  resources of the prosecution service to  effectively  adapt  to  their newly 
envisaged  role  in  conducting  criminal  investigations15.  As  reported  in  202516,  some 
stakeholders raised concerns about risks to the independence and autonomy of prosecutors by 

9 

Professional  Association  of  Magistracy  (2026),  written  input,  p.  8;  Independent  Judicial  Forum  (2026), 
written input, p. 6; Judges and Magistrates Association “Francisco de Vitoria” (2026), written input, p. 1; 
Association of Prosecutors (2026), written input, p. 6; Foundation Hay Derecho (2026), written input, p. 8; 
Civic Platform for the Judicial Independence (2026), written input, pp. 6-7; Country visit Spain, Judges for 
Democracy. 

10   Council for the Judiciary (2026c). 
11  Country visit Spain, Council for the Judiciary; Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 4. 
12   Foundation Hay Derecho (2026), written input, p. 9;  Civic Platform for the Judicial Independence (2026), 

written input, p. 7; Council for the Judiciary (2026), written input, p. 10. 

13   The 2025 Rule of Law Report recommended Spain to: “[c]ontinue ongoing efforts to strengthen the statute 
of  the  Prosecutor  General,  in  particular  regarding  the  separation  of  the  terms  of  office  of  the  Prosecutor 
General  from  that  of  the  Government,  taking  into  account  European  standards  on  independence  and 
autonomy  of  the  prosecution”.  On  this  recommendation,  no  further  progress  was  assessed  in  2023,  some 
progress in 2024 and some further progress in 2025. 

14  Congress (2025b).  
15  Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office (2026a), additional written input, p. 4; Country visit 
Spain,  Association  of  Prosecutors,  Professional  and  Independent  Association  of  Prosecutors,  Progressive 
Union of Prosecutors. See also footnote 27 for additional information on prosecutorial positions. 

16  2025 Rule of Law Report, Spain, pp. 4-5.  

4 

 
 
 
lowering their professional safeguards17, whereas others see it as an opportunity to improve 
the  democratic  governance  of  the  prosecution  service  and  its  necessary  counterbalances18. 
The reform is still under discussion in the Parliament. Overall, the first key initiative is a step 
towards  strengthening  the  statute  of  the  Prosecutor  General,  and  there  has  been  significant 
progress on the recommendation. 

Judges  and  legal  practitioners  continue  raising  concerns  about  public  statements  by 
politicians criticising decisions of courts. Members of the judiciary, including the Supreme 
Court,  the  Council  for  the  Judiciary  and  judges’  associations,  as  well  as  the  Constitutional 
Court, continue flagging that statements against individual judges contribute to the erosion of 
public trust in the judiciary19. The Supreme Court reported accusations of “judicial lawfare” 
and  personal  criticism  directed  at  its  magistrates,  particularly  after  recent  high-profile 
judgments20, while the General Council of Spanish Lawyers called for the necessary respect 
for  judicial  decisions  as  a  fundamental  pillar  of  the  rule  of  law21.  Conversely,  criticism 
targeting politicians has been voiced by some judges and some cases are currently handled by 
the  Disciplinary  Committee  of  the  Council  for  the  Judiciary22.  According  to  European 
standards, while criticising judicial decisions is a normal aspect of democratic discourse, the 
executive and legislative powers should avoid criticism that undermines the independence of 
or public confidence in the judiciary23. Likewise, all State bodies, of the executive, legislative 
and judiciary, should apply mutual respect to ensure the proper functioning of constitutional 
institutions and protect the trust of the general public in them24.  

Quality  

Initiatives are underway to increase the resources of the justice system. The Council for 
the  Judiciary  adopted  the  2026-2035  Strategic  Plan  for  Human  Resources  in  the  Judicial 
Career25.  The  Plan  considers  the  current  number  of  judges  insufficient  and  estimated  an 
annual  recruitment  need  of  367  judges  until  2035.  However,  it  noted  that  such  level  of 
recruitment would only cover replacement needs and would not address the existing deficit in 
judicial capacity, with 431 vacant positions reported at the end of 2025. Substitute judges fill 
many of these vacancies and represent one in six judges, while their number and share have 
declined26.  The  Government  announced  the  creation  of  500  new  judicial  positions  in  2026 
and a further 200 new prosecutor positions, and the corresponding launch of the recruitment 

17  Country  visit  Spain,  Association  of  Prosecutors  and  Professional  and  Independent  Association  of 

Prosecutors. Council for the Judiciary (2026), written input, p. 2.  

18  Country visit Spain, Progressive Union of Prosecutors. 
19   Country  visit  Spain,  Council  for  the  Judiciary,  Constitutional  Court,  Professional  Association  of 
Magistracy,  Judges  and  Magistrates  Association  “Francisco  de  Vitoria”,  Judges  for  Democracy  and 
Independent Judicial Forum; Council for the Judiciary (2025a and 2026e). 

20   Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Supreme  Court  (2026),  written  input,  p.  10;  Country  visit  Spain,  Technical 

Cabinet of the Supreme Court. 

21   General Council of Spanish Lawyers (2026). 
22   See Council for the Judiciary (2026b and 2026h). Article 418(3) of the Organic Law on the Judiciary deems 
it  a  serious  offense  to  address  the  powers,  authorities,  public  officials  or  official  bodies  with  praise  or 
criticism for their actions, invoking the status of judge, or making use of it. 

23   Council  of  Europe:  Committee  of  Ministers  (2010),  para.  18.  See  also  Council  of  Europe:  Venice 

Commission (2013), paras. 21-22. 

24   Council of Europe: Consultative Council of European Judges (2015), para. 54: “Any analyses and criticisms 

by one power of state of the other powers should be undertaken in a climate of mutual respect”. 

25   Council for the Judiciary (2025c), pp. 17-18. 
26  The highest recent share was in 2022/2023: 1159 out of 5553 judges (20.87%), and the share in 2025/2026 
was 947 out of 5643 judges (16.78%). Council for the Judiciary (2025c), p. 16 and Council for the Judiciary 
(2024a), p. 14.  

5 

 
 
 
process  has  been  published27.  These  measures  would  increase  the  number  of  judges  per 
inhabitant28, which is currently one of the lowest in the EU29. The draft law on judicial and 
prosecutorial careers30, tabled in May 2025 and still under discussion in Parliament, seeks to 
reform  the  access  to  these  careers  and  stabilise  the  situation  of  substitute-judges  and 
substitute-prosecutors.  Some  stakeholders  continue  to  raise  concerns  about  the  possible 
impact  of  the  proposed  measures  on  the  independence  of  justice31,  while  others  support 
elements  of  the  envisaged  reform32.  Judges  and  prosecutors  also  warn  about  the  lack  of 
sufficient long-term planning  of human  resources  to  be  allocated to  the justice system33.  In 
2025,  measures  were  implemented  to  enhance  financial  resources  and  improve  the 
remuneration  and  working  conditions  of  judges  and  prosecutors,  including  advancing  the 
payment of judicial career arrears, with full regularisation expected by 202734. Associations 
of judges have reiterated their concerns about the level of remuneration, especially for work-
on-call shifts35. The Council for the Judiciary continues addressing concerns about excessive 
workload in the justice system36. In this context, it is conducting inspections, implementing 
reorganisations, and cooperating with the Ministry of Presidency, Justice and Relations with 
Parliament to create new positions and organise competitions37. 

Efforts  to further  improve the  already  high level  of  digitalisation of  justice continued, 
while  there  is  still  limited  interoperability  among  national  and  regional  case 
management  systems.  The  overall  level  of  digitalisation  of  justice  in  Spain  is  one  of  the 
highest  in  the  EU38.  The  Council  for  the  Judiciary  has  adopted  instructions  for  the  use  of 
artificial intelligence by courts39. The Government is introducing new digitalisation measures, 
including  fully  digitalising  the  Civil  Registry  by  automating  judicial  and  administrative 
processes  (e.g.  nationality  files,  cancellation  of  criminal  records)40,  using  artificial 
intelligence  tools  to  speed  up  procedural  steps,  promoting  a  “Justice  Folder”  for  seamless 
online access to various justice services, and developing digital interoperability mechanisms 

27   Ministry  of  the  Presidency,  Justice  and  Relations  with  the  Parliament  (2026).  Both  the  new  judicial  and 
prosecutorial positions  are  expected  to  be  filled  in  the  next  years  through  competitions for 700  laureates, 
Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Parliament (2026a). The Council for the Judiciary 
has approved competitive calls for filling 700 positions, 375 for judges and 200 for prosecutors, trough an 
ordinary  competitive  examination;  and  125  positions  for  magistrates,  through  a  merit-based  competitive 
examination (cuarto turno), Council for the Judiciary (2026d, 2026f and 2026g). 

28   Country visit Spain, Council for the Judiciary. 
29   Figure 36, 2026 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
30   Congress (2025). 
31   Such measures include modifications to the ordinary competition system and new  access mechanisms for 
stabilisation processes with requirements that differ from those used in ordinary competitions. Country visit 
Spain, Professional Association of Magistracy, Judges and Magistrates Association “Francisco de Vitoria”, 
Independent Judicial Forum, Association of Prosecutors and  Professional and Independent Association of 
Prosecutors.  

32   Country visit Spain, Judges for Democracy and Progressive Union of Prosecutors. 
33   Judges and Magistrates Association “Francisco de Vitoria” (2026), written input, p. 4; country visit Spain, 
Judges for Democracy; Country visit Spain, Association of Prosecutors and Professional and Independent 
Association of Prosecutors. 

34   Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 9. 
35   Country  visit  Spain,  Professional  Association  of  Magistracy,  Judges  and  Magistrates  Association 
“Francisco  de  Vitoria”,  Independent  Judicial  Forum  and  Judges  for  Democracy.  See  also  Rule  of  Law 
Reports 2024 and 2025. 

36   Country visit Spain, Council for the Judiciary; Council for the Judiciary (2024). 
37   Country visit Spain, Council for the Judiciary and Spanish Government. Council for the Judiciary (2025), p. 

268. 

38   Figures 39-47, 2026 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
39   Council for the Judiciary (2026a). 
40   Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office (2026a), additional written input, p. 7. 

6 

 
 
 
to  channel  communication  between  courts  (e.g.,  Justice  Interoperability  Hub)41.  However, 
both  judges  and  legal  practitioners  continue  to  emphasise  the  need  to  improve  the  limited 
interoperability between regional and central State justice management systems42. They also 
point  at  the  significant  disparities  in  digitalisation  levels  across  regions43  and  specific 
courts44,  highlighting 
for  enhancing  national  digitalisation  coordination 
mechanisms45  and  furthering  digital  training  for  all  legal  operators46.  To  address  these 
challenges,  Spain  has  adopted  a  coordinated  national  strategy  under  ‘Justicia  2030’,  agreed 
with  the  regions.  The  strategy  aims  to  make  justice  more  accessible  and  sustainable  by 
transforming the public judicial service through digitalisation, procedural efficiency, and co-
governance.  

the  need 

After  the  resignation  of  the  former  Prosecutor  General,  following  a  Supreme  Court 
ruling  that  found  him  guilty  of  leaking  confidential  information47,  a  new  Prosecutor 
General  was appointed on 9 December 202548. A new Prosecutor General  was appointed 
with the unanimous endorsement of the Council for the Judiciary. The General Prosecutor’s 
Office  and  the  former  General  Prosecutor  have  both  appealed  the  Supreme  Court’s  ruling 
before the Constitutional Court. 

Efficiency 

The  implementation  of  the  new  law  on  the  efficiency  of  justice49  is  already  showing 
positive  results,  though  there  are  challenges  linked  to  resources  and  consistency  of 
implementation across regions. The last implementation stage of the law50 was finalised in 
December 2025. The reform has already shown early positive results, including a reduction 
of one-third in new civil litigious cases, linked to the new requirement to resort to alternative 
dispute  resolution  mechanisms51.  Stakeholders  largely  share  a  positive  opinion  of  the 
reform’s  key  elements,  recognising  its  potential  to  improve  efficiency  of  justice  by 
introducing  a  new  organisational  structure  based  on  Instance  Tribunals,  creating  common 
judicial  resources,  promoting  court  specialisation,  and  regulating  alternative  dispute 

41   Spanish Government (2026), written input, pp. 7-8 and 10-12.  
42   Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Supreme  Court  (2026a),  additional  written  input,  pp.  1-3;  Letrados  de  la 
Administración de Justicia (Rechtspfleger) (2026), written input pp. 11-14. Country visit Spain, Technical 
Cabinet  of  the  Prosecutor  General’s  Office,  Progressive  Union  of  Prosecutors,  Letrados  de  la 
Administración  de  Justicia  (Rechtspfleger),  Association  of  “Abogados  del  Estado”,  General  Council  of 
Spanish Lawyers. 

43   Country  visit  Spain,  Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Prosecutor  General’s  Office,  Technical  Cabinet  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  Letrados  de  la  Administración  de  Justicia  (Rechtspfleger),  General  Council  of  Spanish 
Lawyers. 

44   Spanish Chamber of Commerce (2026), written input, p. 2. 
45 

In the context of the European Semester, the Commission has proposed that the Council recommends that 
Spain  “[i]mprove[s]  the  performance  of  the  justice  system  by  ensuring  adequate  staffing,  harmonised 
digitalisation and full interoperability across regions”. European Commission (2026a) 209 final, CSR 3. 
46   Country visit Spain,  Letrados de la Administración de Justicia (Rechtspfleger), Association of “Abogados 
del  Estado”,  General  Council  of  Spanish  Lawyers,  Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Prosecutor  General’s  Office, 
Technical Cabinet of the Supreme Court.  

47   Supreme Court (2025).  
48   Council for the Judiciary (2025b). 
49   See  Milestone  434  of  the  Spanish  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plan  (RRP).  The  assessment  related  to 
Milestone 434 in the Rule of Law Report does not prejudge the assessment of the fulfilment of the measures 
in the framework of the Spanish RRP. 

50   Organic Law 1/2025, of 2 January 2025, on measures relating to the efficiency of the Public Justice Service. 
51   Spanish Government (2026), written input, pp. 13-14. 

7 

 
 
 
resolution  mechanisms  as  a  procedural  requirement  for  most  civil  and  commercial  cases52. 
However,  there  are  challenges  linked  to  resources  to  manage  the  changes  in  the  short 
implementation  periods53.  Stakeholders  point  to  limited  national  level  coordination  and 
scarce  training  leading  to  inconsistent  implementation  across  regions,  particularly  in  larger 
municipalities54.  The  Government  has  carried  out  a  number  of  online,  in-person  and 
videoconference  training  sessions  and  coordination  initiatives  on  the  new  organisation 
model55.  Some  stakeholders  signal  that  the  application  of  alternative  dispute  resolution 
mechanisms adds procedural steps that increase costs of participating in judicial proceedings 
for  individuals  and  businesses56.  To  reduce  legal  uncertainty  for  legal  practitioners,  a  joint 
initiative  of  the  General  Council  of  Lawyers  and  the  Council  for  the  Judiciary  seeks  to 
compile  the  criteria  to  apply  the  new  law  on  efficiency  of  all  Spanish  courts,  providing 
concrete guidance to legal practitioners57. 

The length of judicial proceedings remains a challenge, particularly in civil, commercial 
and  labour  cases.  The  disposition  time  for  litigious  civil  and  commercial  cases  at  first 
instance decreased slightly from 444 days in 2023 to 423 days in 202458. Efficiency at higher 
instances  showed  uneven  progress;  the  disposition  time  for  these  cases  before  the  Supreme 
Court further increased  from 691 in  2023 to  750 days in  2024, nearly twice the duration at 
first instance59. The backlog of pending cases continued to grow, doubling from 2016 to 2024 
and  reaching  5.9  per  100  inhabitants60,  with  a  marked  rise  in  pending  litigious  civil  and 
commercial  matters61.  Collective  redress  actions,  particularly  concerning  consumer  and 
competition  cases,  have  posed  additional  strains  on  courts62.  The  Supreme  Court  reports  a 
shortage  of  magistrates  in  its  civil  and  labour  chambers63.  Labour  courts  face  a  significant 
structural  backlog  and  a  high  workload64.  According  to  stakeholders,  this  is  resulting  in 
delays that generate legal uncertainty for companies65 and hamper enforcement of workers’ 
rights66. 

52   Letrados de la Administración de Justicia (Rechtspfleger) (2026), written input, p. 8; Technical Cabinet of 
the  Supreme  Court  (2026a)  additional  written  input,  p.  7;  Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Prosecutor  General’s 
Office  (2026a),  additional  written  input,  p.  7;  country  visit  Spain,  Judges  for  Democracy,  Association  of 
“Abogados del Estado”. 

53   All implementation stages took place within a nine month-period. 
54  Country visit Spain, Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Professional Association of the 
Magistracy,  Independent  Judicial  Forum,  Judges  and  Magistrates  Association  “Francisco  de  Vitoria”, 
Judges  for  Democracy,  Letrados  de  la  Administración  de  Justicia  (Rechtspfleger),  Association  of 
“Abogados  del  Estado”,  CCOO,  UGT,  CEOE,  CEPYME,  General  Council  of  Lawyers;  Ombudsperson 
(2026a), p. 137. 

55  Up  to  May  2026,  there  have  been  almost  19  000  participants  in  different  trainings,  Spanish  Government 

(2026c), additional written input. 

56   Country visit Spain, Letrados de la Administración de Justicia (Rechtspfleger), CEOE and CEPYME. 
57   Country visit Spain, General Council of Lawyers, CEOE and CEPYME. 
58   Figure 5, 2026 Justice Scoreboard. 
59   Figure 6, 2026 Justice Scoreboard. 
60   Figure 12, 2026 Justice Scoreboard. 
61   Figure 13, 2026 Justice Scoreboard. 
62   Country visit Spain, Technical Cabinet of the Supreme Court and Association of “Abogados del Estado”. 
63  Technical Cabinet of the Supreme Court (2026a), additional written input, p. 4. 
64  Council for the Judiciary (2025), pp. 464, 491, 507 and 522; CCOO (2026), pp. 3, 7-9; country visit Spain, 
CCOO, UGT, CEOE and CEPYME; Ombudsperson (2025), p. 135 and Ombudsperson (2026a), p. 140. 

65  Country visit Spain, employers’ associations CEOE and CEPYME. 
66  Country visit Spain, trade unions CCOO and UGT. 

8 

 
 
 
II. 

ANTI-CORRUPTION FRAMEWORK  

The  perception  among  citizens,  experts  and  business  executives  is  that  the  level  of 
corruption  in  the  public  sector  remains  relatively  high.  In  the  2025  Corruption 
Perceptions  Index by Transparency  International, Spain  scores 55/100  and ranks 17th in  the 
European Union and 49th globally67. This perception has significantly increased over the past 
five years68. The 2026 Special Eurobarometer on Corruption shows that 92% of respondents 
consider corruption widespread in their country (EU average 71%) and 53% of respondents 
feel  personally  affected  by  corruption  in  their  daily  lives  (EU  average  30%).  As  regards 
businesses, 85% of companies consider that corruption is widespread (EU average 65%) and 
62%  consider  that  that  corruption  is  a  problem  when  doing  business  (EU  average  37%). 
Furthermore, 31% of respondents find that there are enough successful prosecutions to deter 
people  from  corrupt  practices  (EU  average  38%),  while  18%  of  companies  believe  that 
people  and  businesses  caught  for  bribing  a  senior  official  are  appropriately  punished  (EU 
average 31%)69.  

The Government has adopted a State Anti-Corruption Plan, as well as several key draft 
laws and strategic documents. On 26 August 2025, the Council of Ministers approved the 
State Anti-Corruption Plan and created an inter-ministerial commission for the promotion of 
the Plan70. The Plan is structured around five axes of legislative intervention: risk prevention 
and  strengthened  controls,  effective  protection  of  whistleblowers,  investigation  and 
prosecution, asset recovery, and awareness raising71. The Plan also provides for the creation 
of  an  Independent  Authority  for  Public  Integrity  as  the  central  body  for  the  prevention, 
supervision  and  prosecution  of  corruption72.  A  concrete  measure  stemming  from  the  State 
Plan  is  the  preliminary  draft  Open  Administration  Law73,  approved  by  the  Council  of 
Ministers  on  7  October  2025.  It  aims  to  advance  transparency,  integrity  and  citizen 
participation  in  the  fight  against  corruption,  including  through  measures  such  as  integrity 
pacts  in  public  procurement  and  citizen  audits74.  In  addition  to  the  State  Anti-Corruption 
Plan, the Fifth Open Government Plan (2025-2029) was approved75, containing commitments 
for the prevention of corruption, and providing for the adoption of the National  Anti-Fraud 
Strategy.  Finally,  institutional  capacity  has  also  been  reinforced  by  the  launch  of  an 
independent authority tasked with the protection of whistleblowers76, which started operating 
on 1 September 202577. 

67  The level of perceived corruption is categorised as follows: low (above 79); relatively low (between 79-60), 

68 

relatively high (between 59-50), high (below 50). 
In 2021 the score was 61, while, in 2025, the score is 55. The perception significantly increases/decreases 
when  it  changes  more  than  five  points;  improved/deteriorated  (changes  between  4-5  points);  has  been 
relatively stable (changes from 1-3 points) in the last five years. 

69  Data from Special Eurobarometer 573 (2026) and Flash Eurobarometer 582 (2026).  
70   Law  2/2023  included  a  requirement  that  the  Government  adopts  a  national  Anti-Corruption  Strategy  by 

September 2024. 2025 Rule of Law Report, Spain, p. 8. 

71  Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 14. 
72  National Anti-Fraud Coordination Service (2026) written input, p. 2. 
73  The  preliminary  draft  Open  Administration  Law  was  approved  by  the  Council  of  Ministers  in  October 

2025. Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 18. 

74   National Anti-Fraud Coordination Service (2026), written input, p. 2. 
75  Spain’s Fifth Open Government Plan 2025-2029 was approved on 6 October 2025.  
76    The Independent Authority for the Protection of Reporting Persons (AIPI). 
77  The Authority has a mandate to manage a confidential external reporting channel, process complaints and 
protection requests, and contribute to enforcement and policy development in whistleblower protection and 
anti-corruption. Its capacity is currently limited but operational, with a small and not yet fully staffed team 
9 

 
 
 
There  has  been  some  progress  on  the  recommendation  related  to  the  length  of 
investigations  and prosecutions of high-level  corruption cases, with draft legislation to 
increase efficiency under discussion in Parliament78. The draft law amending the Code of 
Criminal  Procedure,  tabled  in  Parliament  in  October  2025,  aims  to  make  the  criminal 
procedure  more  effective79.  The  investigation  would  be  a  short  preparatory  phase  of  non-
judicial nature, with an appeal possible in cases expressly provided by law80, and its duration 
would be subject to judicial oversight to ensure it matches the complexity of the case81. The 
statute  of  limitations  for  corruption  crimes  would  be  extended82.  The  total  number  of  new 
corruption-related proceedings83 referred to the competent judicial body for prosecutions both 
at national level and at regional level amounted to 19 in 202584. Of the 76 adjudicated cases 
of  corruption  crimes  in  2025,  a  total  of  52  cases  were  convictions  or  partial  convictions, 
while  19  were  acquittals85.  At  the  pre-investigation  stage,  in  202486,  the  Special  Anti-
Corruption Prosecutor’s Office managed its workload without a major accumulation of new 
backlog87. The European Public prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) had four active corruption cases 
in Spain by the end of 202588. In 2025, a specialised unit was established within the General 
Prosecutor’s Office to coordinate prosecutors handling crimes against public administration89. 
Together  with  new  judicial  and  prosecutorial  posts  and  the  appointment  of  three  additional 
judges  at  the  National  High  Court,  these  measures  aim  to  strengthen  the  efficiency  of 
handling  of  corruption  cases90.  Challenges  remain  in  the  investigation  and  prosecution  of 
high-level  corruption  cases  due  to  the  involvement  of  multiple  parties,  lengthy  appeal 
procedures, delays in international assistance, complexity of expert reports, limited resources, 
and the lack of specialised judicial bodies91. Overall, with a view to the authorities’ efforts to 

(12 of 19 posts), and a temporary budget covering basic needs. Spanish Government (2026), written input, 
p. 22; country visit Spain, Government. 

78   The 2025 Rule of Law Report recommended Spain to: “strengthen efforts to address the challenges related 
to  the  length  of  investigations  and  prosecutions  in  handling  high-level  corruption  cases,  including  by 
finalising the reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure.” 2025  Rule of Law  Report,  Spain, p. 2. On this 
recommendation, no progress was assessed in 2023, some progress in 2024, and some further progress in 
2025. 

79   See Justice System above. 
80   This  contrasts  with  the  current  model,  in  which  each  decision  of  the  investigating  judge  is  individually 

appealable. Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 5. 

81  Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 5. 
82   Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 13. 
83   In  the  first  ten  months  of  2025,  144  corruption-related  offences  were  reported  to  the  law-enforcement 
agencies, compared to 213 in the whole of 2024, indicating a slight decrease. Spanish Government (2026b), 
p. 9. 

84  Compared to 25 cases in 2024. Database of the Council for the Judiciary.  
85 

In  2024,  out  of  the  total  of  58  cases  30  cases  were  convictions  or  partial  convictions  and  21  acquittals. 
Database of the Council for the Judiciary. 

86   Latest data available. 
87  Throughout 2024, 29 pre-trial investigative proceedings were concluded, including 14 from 2024, 10 from 
2023, 2 from 2022, and 3 from 2021. At the end of 2024, 25 pre-trial investigative proceedings remained 
pending:  1  from  2020,  1  from  2021,  2  from  2022,  7  from  2023,  and  14  initiated  in  2024.  Country  visit 
Spain,  Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Prosecutor  General’s  Office  (2026b),  additional  written  input  regarding 
corruption case statistics. 
Involving, among others, former members of the executive and legislative branches.  Hay Derecho (2026), 
written input, pp. 33 and 36. 

88 

89   Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office (2026), written input, p. 24.  
90   An  8%  increase  of  staff  is  expected  in  2026.  Country  visit  Spain,  Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Prosecutor 
General’s Office. Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office (2026a), p. 7. See also 2025 Rule of 
Law Report, Spain, p. 9. 

91   Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office (2026), written input, p. 27.  

10 

 
 
 
improve staffing and the proposal to reform the Code of Criminal Procedure, some progress 
has been made on this recommendation.  

Efforts continue to address gaps in the legislative framework and in the enforcement of 
the foreign bribery law. While the legal framework for the criminalisation of international 
bribery  and  related  penalties  remained  unchanged  in  202592,  an  extension  of  the  limitation 
period and stricter penalties for legal persons are now envisaged93. These provisions are set 
out  in  the  preliminary  draft  Organic  Law  on  Public  Integrity,  which  underwent  the  first 
reading in the Council of Ministers in February 2026. The Government also aims to continue 
improving its track record on foreign bribery by general anti-corruption measures contained 
in  the  draft  law  amending  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure94,  as  well  as  by  establishing  a 
transactions. 
national  database  on  corruption  offences 
Awareness-raising  actions  and  training  on  detecting  foreign  bribery  are  carried  out,  and 
measures  taken  to  help  detect  such  cases  by  auditors  and  by  the  Executive  Service  of  the 
Commission  for  the  Prevention  of  Money  Laundering  and  Monetary  Offences95.  New 
criminal  investigations  related to  international  bribery cases  have been opened  and existing 
ones processed further96. Despite these efforts, enforcement against foreign bribery remained 
limited  in  2025,  with  only  three  cases  concluded  successfully  since  201697,  including  one 
new conviction in 202598.  

international  commercial 

in 

A  draft  law  has  been  prepared  with  the  view  of  reinforcing  the  Council  for 
Transparency and Good Governance. In February 2026, the Council of Ministers approved 
the draft Open Administration Law. This draft law envisages the reinforcement of the role of 
the Council for Transparency and Good Governance, which is for the first time defined as an 
independent  administrative  authority99,  competent  to  monitor  compliance  with  transparency 
obligations and resolve complaints, and provided with new powers to impose sanctions100. It 
will  also  play  a  stronger  governance  role  and  assess  the  degree  of  implementation  of  the 
Open  Administration  Law101.  This  reinforcement  is  designed  to  ensure  effective  external 
control  over  high-risk  sectors  and  actions102.  However,  the  Council  notes  that  the  current 

92   Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office (2026), written input, p. 27. 
93   This is envisaged in the framework of  the preliminary draft Organic Law on Public Integrity. The OECD 
also  recommended  Spain  to  clarify  provisions  on  corporate  liability  and  to  ensure  a  sufficiently  long 
limitation period for judicial investigations. OECD (2025a), pp. 4 and 8. 

94   The draft law amending the Code of Criminal Procedure was approved by the Council of Ministers and is 

now subject to parliamentary adoption. The entry into force is scheduled for 1 January 2028. 

95  Spanish Government (2026b), p. 7.  
96  Spanish Government (2026b), p. 7.  
97   OECD (2025a), p.16.  
98   Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office (2026), written input, p.27.  
99   Article  68  of  the  draft  law,  as  published  for  the  Hearing  and  Public  Information  on  the  draft  Open 

Administration Law. 

100   Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 25. 
101   Article  73  of  the  draft  law,  as  published  for  the  Hearing  and  Public  Information  on  the  draft  Open 

Administration Law. 

102  Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 25; country visit Spain, Government. 

11 

 
 
 
limited  budgetary  resources  hamper  its  functioning103,  notably  with  a  view  to  handling  an 
increasing number of complaints104. 

The draft Open Administration Law seeks to establish a comprehensive regime for the 
prevention of conflicts of interest in the public sector. The draft Open Administration Law 
provides  a  clear  definition  of  conflicts  of  interest,  defines  what  constitutes  an  enforceable 
abstention  procedure,  and  complements  it  by  traceability  and  control  measures.  It  also 
incorporates early detection measures, including alert systems and declarations of absence of 
conflict  of  interest.  Furthermore,  the  draft  introduces  a  specific  sanctioning  regime,  with 
graduated sanctions105. Finally, the draft strengthens the asset-control regime by assigning the 
Office  for  the  Conflict  of  Interest  (OCI)  the  responsibility  for  end-of-term  and  random 
checks,  and  the  issuance  of  a  report  within  three  months  of  cessation.  With  appropriate 
verification  powers  and  adequate  capacity,  these  mechanisms  may  help  structurally 
strengthen  the  system106.  In  addition,  the  Office  for  Asset  Recovery  and  Management 
(ORGA)  would  be  reinforced107.  Concerning  rules  on  conflicts  of  interest  across  all 
government agencies in Spain, GRECO points at a number of areas for improvement, notably 
regarding  the  prevention  of  corruption  and  the  promotion  of  integrity  in  law-enforcement 
agencies108.  

There  has  been  limited  progress  on  the  recommendation  to  strengthen  the  rules  on 
conflicts of interest and asset declarations of persons in top executive functions109. Asset 
disclosure obligations, revolving-doors, and conflicts of interest are regulated in Law 3/2015. 
However, available data indicate that, in practice, in its current setup, the Office for Conflicts 
of  Interest  (OCI)  may  have  limited  capacity  to  detect,  deter  or  sanction  misconduct110.  The 
State Anti-Corruption Plan includes the creation of an Independent Public Integrity Agency, 
which is set to take on a key role in preventing, monitoring, and prosecuting corruption. Its 

103  The current budget amounts to EUR 3.9 million. The Council considers a steady budgetary increase of 12-
15% annually indispensable for the Council to process the growing number of complaints, which are also 
increasingly complex and require extensive legal analyses. Country visit Spain, Transparency Council. 
104   In 2025, there were 2 767 new complaints, compared to 1 973 in 2024, representing a 40% increase. During 
this  period,  2  234  claims  were  resolved  compared  to  2  231  in  2024.  Transparency  Council  (2026), 
additional written input, p. 3. 

105   Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 21. 
106   Hay Derecho (2026a), p. 36. 
107   Spanish Government (2026), written input, p.14; country visit Spain, Government. Measure 11 of the State 
Plan  against  Corruption  envisages  a  functional  and  operational  strengthening  of  the  ORGA,  primarily 
through  increased  staffing  and  budgetary  resources,  adaptation  to  Directive  (EU)  2024/1260  on  Asset 
Recovery  and  Confiscation,  enhanced  cross-border  cooperation  and  asset-tracing  capacity,  improved 
management of confiscated assets, and the adoption of a national asset recovery strategy. 

108   Concerning law-enforcement agencies, the key systemic shortcomings identified by GRECO are a lack of 
dedicated anti-corruption strategy for the Police, a weak implementation of codes of conduct, insufficient 
transparency  in  recruitment  and  promotions,  lack  of periodic  vetting  of  officers,  weak conflict-of-interest 
management, incomplete whistleblower protections for the Police, and disciplinary systems needing major 
reform. GRECO (2025), pp. 12 -19. See also Recommendation xii of GRECO (2019).  

109   The 2025 Rule of Law Report recommended to Spain to “take forward the legislative process to strengthen 
rules  on  conflicts  of  interest  and  asset  declarations  of  persons  with  top  executive  functions,  including  by 
further  reinforcing  the  independence  and  sanctioning power  of  the  Office  for  Conflicts of  Interest.”  2025 
Rule  of  Law  Report,  Spain,  p.  2.  No  progress  was  assessed  on  this  recommendation  in  2024  and  some 
progress in 2025. 

110  Between 2014 and April 2025, the OCI granted 597 post-employment authorisations to 323 former senior 
officials (1.8 per person), with only 3.3% denied. Between 2015 and 2025, only 53 preliminary proceedings 
followed external complaints, and sanctions remain rare.  Stakeholders pointed to the fact that, while asset 
and  interest  declarations  are  required,  there  is  no  granular  publicly  available  comparison  or  evidence  of 
effective detection of unjustified enrichment. Hay Derecho (2026a), p. 35 and OCI (2025). 

12 

 
 
 
establishment is planned through the preliminary draft Organic Law on Public Integrity. The 
new agency would consolidate under a single institutional umbrella the roles of the OCI, the 
Independent  Authority  for  Whistleblower  Protection,  as  well  as  the  National  Anti-Fraud 
Coordination  Service111.  To  facilitate  compliance  with  the  notification  obligations,  a  set  of 
guidelines  containing  explanations  and  best  practices  was  published  at  the  end  of  2025  by 
Parliament112. The reform  of the rules  of  procedure of both  the Congress  and the Senate to 
strengthen  penalties  for  the  failure  to  submit  asset  declarations  or  for  providing  false  or 
incomplete information, as envisaged by the Democracy Action Plan113, has not been carried 
out yet by the Senate and the Congress. The amendment proposed in May 2025 to regulate 
interest  groups  and  breaches  by  parliamentarians  and  parliamentary  groups  is  pending  in 
Parliament114. Overall, given that the preliminary draft Organic Law on Public Integrity has 
been tabled and the State Anti-Corruption Plan adopted, but practical implementation of the 
existing rules has not improved, there has been limited progress on this recommendation. 

There has been limited progress on the recommendation on lobbying, as the draft Law 
on the Transparency and Integrity of the Activities of Interest Groups has not yet been 
adopted  by  Parliament115.  The  draft  transparency  law,  introducing  a  broad  definition  of 
what  constitutes  a  group  of  interest  and  influence  activities  and  establishing  a  mandatory 
public register of interest groups, as well as a Code of Conduct for interest groups and their 
members116, is still under discussion in Parliament117. This reform is included in the Recovery 
and Resilience Plan as part of steps to modernise and digitalise the public administration118. 
While there was a modest increase in the number of parliamentarians reporting meetings with 
interest  representatives  in  2025  compared  to  2024,  the  overall  compliance  with  the  rules 
remains low119. Civil  society  notes  that the current  transparency portal  and  voluntary lobby 
registers  remain  fragmented  and  ineffective120.  As  the  legislative  process  is  still  ongoing, 
there has been limited progress on this recommendation.  

Shortcomings  remain  regarding  compliance  with  transparency  obligations  related  to 
political  party  financing.  In  its  2025  audit121,  the  Court  of  Auditors  examined  the 
compliance  of  political  parties  with  transparency  obligations  related  to  economic-financial, 

111   The National Anti-Fraud Coordination Service is integrated into the Office of the Controller-General of the 
State  Administration  (IGAE)  of  the  Ministry  of  Finance.  Country  visit  Spain,  Spanish  Government  and 
Spanish Government (2026c), additional written input. 

112  Country visit Spain, Congress. 
113  Democracy Action Plan, p. 29. 
114   Country visit Spain, Congress, additional written input. See also 2025 Rule of Law Report, Spain, p.12. 
115  The 2025 Rule of Law Report recommended Spain to “continue the ongoing procedure to adopt legislation 
on  lobbying,  including  the  establishment  of  a  mandatory public  register  of  lobbyists.”  2025  Rule  of  Law 
Report Spain, p. 2. Significant progress was assessed on this recommendation in 2023, no progress in 2024 
and some progress in 2025. 

116   Draft law on transparency and integrity of the activities of interest groups 121/000046. The law also aims to 

implement outstanding GRECO recommendations, Recommendation vi, GRECO (2025), p. 10. 

117   The  parliamentary  groups  tabled  115  amendments,  which  have  been  consolidated  into  19  compromise 
amendments. The amendments’ deadline had been extended 21 times and there has been no progress since 
September  2025.  Spanish  Government  (2026),  written  input,  p.19;  country  visit  Spain,  Government,  and 
Hay Derecho (2026a), p. 28. 

118   Milestone 432 under Component 11 of the revised Annex to the Council Implementing Decision of 13 July 

2021 on the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Spain. 

119  In the Congress, 75 Parliamentarians notified their meetings, compared to 46 in 2024 (the Congress has 350 
members). In the Senate, the situation was reported as comparable. Country visit Spain, the Congress and 
the Senate. 

120  Liberties Rule of Law Report (2026), p. 15. 
121   The report covers the 2024 financial year. 

13 

 
 
 
organisational  and  regulatory  information  published  on  party  websites.  The  audit  found 
persistent  deficiencies  in  accessibility,  visibility and  timeliness  of  published  information122. 
Moreover,  previously  reported  shortcomings  remain  as  regards  campaign  funding,  notably 
concerning  loopholes  in  the  delineation  between  ordinary  and  electoral  funding,  corporate 
donations  in  electoral  campaigns,  donation  limits  and  traceability  requirements,  as  well  as 
transparency and audit controls over political party financing123. The Government has started 
the procedure to modify the Organic Law on the Financing of Political Parties, to address the 
deficiencies highlighted by the Court of Auditors124. 

The Independent Authority for Whistleblower Protection (AIPI) started operating with 
some budgetary and staffing constraints. These limitations may be partially linked to the 
Authority’s recent  start of operations  in  September 2025125. In the absence of agreement in 
Parliament  to  adopt  the  State  budget,  the  Authority  meets  its  operating  needs  thanks  to  a 
temporary  budgetary  arrangement126.  The  Authority  has  23  official  posts,  of  which  14  are 
filled. AIPI considers its budget and staffing levels insufficient  for the growing workload  – 
since  September  2025,  the  Authority  has  received  over  400  reports  (about  four  daily)  and 
issued over 20 protection certificates127. In addition, the institutional complexity is increased 
by the existence of regional authorities for whistleblower protection in eight regions128. These 
bodies differ in their legal nature and scope, depending on the competences conferred by their 
respective  regulatory  frameworks129.  Civil  society  has  noted  a  number  of  possible 
shortcomings as regards support services for whistleblowers130.  

Public procurement remains an area vulnerable to corruption risks. Businesses’ attitudes 
towards corruption in the EU show that 40% of companies in Spain (EU average 30%) think 
that corruption has prevented them from winning a public tender in practice in the last three 
years131.  44%  of  businesses  perceive  the  level  of  independence  of  the  public  procurement 
review  body  (Central  Administrative  Court  of  Contract  Appeals)  as  very  or  fairly  good, 
which has significantly decreased in comparison with 2025 (61%)132. The Single Market and 
Competitiveness Scoreboard on access to public procurement in Spain reports 34 % of single 
bids for 2025 (EU average 27%). Civil society notes persistent systemic weaknesses in public 

122   Only one third (21 out of 63) of the audited parties included an explicit commitment to transparency in their 
statutes,  fewer  than  one  in  five  (11  out  of  63)  had  adopted  a  specific  protocol  on  active  publicity 
obligations, and over 40 % (27 out of 63) had not designated a responsible unit or official for transparency-
related publications. Court of Auditors (2025), pp. 112083–112085 of the Official Journal. 

123  Country  visit  Spain,  Court  of  Auditors.  Motion  Nr.  1445,  regarding  the  financing,  economic-financial 
activity,  and  control  of  political  parties  and  of  foundations  and  other  entities  linked  to  or  dependent  on 
them, approved on 27 July 2021.  

124   Spanish Government (2026c), additional written input. 
125  Spanish Government (2026c), additional written input. 
126   Spanish Government (2026), written input, pp. 22-23; country visit Spain, Government. 
127   AIPI (2026), written input, pp. 6-7.  
128   Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia, the Valencian Community, Castilla-La Mancha, the Chartered Community of 

Navarre, the Community of Madrid, and Castilla y León. 

129   AIPI (2026), written input, p. 8.  The AIPI notes that further regulatory changes to improve the follow-up 
mechanisms to filed reports would be also desirable; some have been incorporated in the  preliminary draft 
Organic  Law  on  Public  Integrity,  which  is  undergoing  public  consultation  and  will  be  subject  to  a 
parliamentary debate. AIPI (2026), written input, p. 5. 

130   Civil  society  research  revealed  inter  alia  insufficient  financial  and  psychological  support  services  for 
whistleblowers and inadequate technical safeguards to guarantee anonymity. Liberties Rule of Law Report, 
X-Net, (2026), p. 19. 

131   Flash  Eurobarometer  582  on  Businesses’  attitudes  towards  corruption  in  the  EU  (2026).  This  is  10 

percentage points below the EU average. 
132   Figure 59, 2026 EU Justice Scoreboard.  

14 

 
 
 
procurement in the form of integrity risks, low effective competition, insufficient traceability 
and poor data reusability133. In December 2025, a proposal for a recommendation on public 
procurement was adopted by the Cooperation Committee134, in line with the National Public 
Procurement  Strategy  and  its  objective  to  prevent,  detect  and  correct  fraud,  corruption, 
conflicts of interest and double funding. Additional measures are planned in the preliminary 
draft  Open  Administration  Law135.  The  Independent  Office  on  Supervision  of  Public 
Procurement  notes  that,  as  in  previous  years,  contracts  for  the  provision  of  services  remain 
the  most  affected  by  corruption  and  anti-competitive  practices136.  The  Office  recommends 
better training, stronger professional standards, an urgent adoption of the National Anti-Fraud 
Strategy,  and  a  better  control  of  subcontracting,  as  well  as  shorter  procedural  delays137.  In 
addition  to  public  procurement,  stakeholders  have  identified  critical  infrastructure  and 
political party financing as sectors most vulnerable to corruption138. 

III.  MEDIA PLURALISM AND MEDIA FREEDOM  

Reforms are ongoing, including further resources for the national regulator to carry out 
its new supervisory functions. The new draft law on Digital Services and Media adopted by 
the Council of Ministers on 29 July 2025 with a view to aligning with the European Media 
Freedom Act (EMFA)139 is still in the amendment phase of the parliamentary process140. In 
parallel, a Digital Transformation Committee is holding expert hearings on technical issues of 
the draft141. In particular, the draft law proposes the creation of a new Media Directorate in 
the  National  Commission  for  Markets  and  Competition  (CNMC)142,  consisting  of  four  new 
sub-directorates  and  32  new  posts.  This  follows  the  need  for  reinforced  resources  with  the 
required expertise in order to carry out its present and future tasks effectively, as noted by the 
CNMC itself and other stakeholders143. The 2026 Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) for Spain 
maintains its previous score for plurality of media service providers as very-high risk144. As 
regards  independence  and  effectiveness  of  the  media  authority,  it  maintains  its  previous 
assessment  of  low  risk145.  The  CNMC  continues  to  cooperate  with  regional  entities  and 

133   Liberties Rule of Law Report 2026, p. 17. 
134   The  Committee  (Comité  de  Cooperación  en  materia  de  contratación  pública)  has  been  tasked  with 
coordinating and harmonising public procurement policy across different levels of Government in Spain. 

135   Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 24. 
136   Service contracts represent 48% of reported corruption-related complaints. The main causes of complaints 
are alleged corrupt practices (25%), breach of legal provisions (24%), artificial splitting of contracts (13%) 
and  award  irregularities  (11%).  Annual  Report  of  the  Independent  Office  on  Supervision  of  Public 
Procurement (2025), p. 13. 

137   Independent  Office  on  Supervision  of  Public  Procurement  (2025),  Annual  report,  Conclusions  and 

Recommendations, pp. 24-32. 

138   Foundation Hay Derecho (2026), written input, p. 5. 
139   Draft Law for the Improvement of Democratic Governance in Digital Services and the Media. This law will 
adapt  the  Spanish  legislation  to  both  Regulation  (EU)  2024/1083  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and 
amending  Directive  2010/13/EU  (European  Media  Freedom  Act)  and  Regulation  (EU)  2022/2065  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and 
amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act). 

140  Spanish Government (2026), written input, pp. 31-33. 
141  Country visit Spain, Spanish Government. 
142  The CNMC was designated as Spain's Digital Services Coordinator on 24 January 2024. 
143   Country visit Spain, CNMC; European Federation of Journalists (2026), written input, p. 17; International 
Press Institute (2026), written input, pp. 15-16; Asociación Impulso Ciudadano (2026), written input, p. 2; 
International Press Institute (2025), pp. 5-6. 

144   Media Pluralism Monitor (2026), country report for Spain, p. 22. 
145   Media Pluralism Monitor (2026), country report for Spain, p. 18. 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
regions  via  a  dedicated  forum  in  view  of  their  competence  to  supervise  the  functioning  of 
regional  media,  including  in  relation  to  their  independence146.  In  addition,  following  two 
public  consultations,  a  co-regulation  agreement  regarding  the  rating  of  audiovisual 
programmes  and  content  was  signed  on  10  June  2026,  with  the  regions  expected  to  join 
progressively147.  

Risks  related  to  editorial  independence  and  political  interference  in  publicly  owned 
radio  and  television  broadcasters  are  flagged  by  stakeholders.  The  2024  amendment  to 
the  Law  on  state-owned  radio  and  television  changed  the  composition  of  the  management 
board  and  its  election  system  and  gave  more  powers  to  its  chairperson148.  Similar  concerns 
have  been  raised  by  stakeholders  with  regard  to  regional  public  service  media  following 
similar legislative reforms149. Although  the Government  points to  the normal functioning  of 
RTVE since the reforms were introduced150, stakeholders flag risks to editorial independence 
and political interference151. In January 2026, the News Councils of TVE and RNE152 issued a 
report pointing to the deterioration of professional standards and criticising what they report 
as  perceived  political  bias  in  news  programmes  of  the  public  service  media153.  Stakeholder 
reports suggest that the abovementioned legislative reform has led to a decrease in public trust 
towards public service media154. The 2026 MPM indicator on independence of public service 
media remains at medium-high risk155.  

As  the  adoption  of  new  legislation  is  still  pending,  concerns  remain  as  regards  the 
ownership transparency of media other than audiovisual media services, video sharing 
platforms and influencers. The new draft law on Digital Services and Media adopted on 29 
July 2025 with a view to aligning with the EMFA156 and envisaging the creation of a public 
registry  of  media  supervised  by  the  CNMC157  is  still  in  the  amendment  phase  of  the 
parliamentary process158. The 2026 MPM indicator for transparency of media ownership has 
changed  from  very  high-risk  in  2025  to  medium-low  risk  due  to  the  awaited  legal  reforms, 

146  Country visit Spain, CNCM; Spanish Government (2026a), written input. 
147  Spanish Government (2026a), written input. 
148   Royal  Decree-Law  5/2024,  of  22  October,  amending  Law  17/2006,  of  5  June,  on  state-owned  radio  and 
television, to adopt urgent measures relating to the legal regime applicable to the RTVE Corporation. The 
Royal Decree-Law was adopted by Government and subsequently validated by Congress. 

149   Law 2/2024 of 27 June on the Corporació Audiovisual de la Comunitat Valenciana (CACVSA). Foundation 
Hay Derecho (2026a), written input, p. 52; Asociación Impulso Ciudadano (2026), written input, pp. 1-2; 
International  Press  Institute  (2026),  written  input,  pp.  19-20;  Platform  for  the  Defence  of  Freedom  of 
Information (2026), p. 4. 

150   Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 33.  
151   In  their  views,  risks  were  deriving,  among  other  reasons,  from  the  lack  of  a  merit-based  competition. 
Country visit Spain, News Council of RTVE, Journalists’ Associations; European Federation of Journalists 
(2026), written input,  p. 18; International Press Institute (2026), written input,  p. 17; Asociación Impulso 
Ciudadano (2026), written input, pp. 3-4; Foundation Hay Derecho (2026a), written input, p. 51; Platform 
for the Defence of Freedom of Information (2026), p. 4; International Press Institute (2025), p. 6. 

152   Internal  bodies  established  by  the  Law  on  RTVE  for  the  participation  of  professionals  to  ensure  the 

neutrality and objectivity of news content.  

153   Country visit Spain, News Council of RTVE; Foundation Hay Derecho (2026a), written input, p. 51. 
154   Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025, pp. 108-109; Foundation Hay Derecho (2025), written input, p. 

50. 

155   Media Pluralism Monitor (2026), country report for Spain, p. 35. 
156  Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a 
common  framework  for  media  services  in  the  internal  market  and  amending  Directive  2010/13/EU 
(European Media Freedom Act). 

157   Through a reform of the General Law on Audiovisual communication 13/2022 of 7 July 2022. 
158  Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 34.  

16 

 
 
 
 
 
namely  the  creation  of  a  public  registry  and  the  establishment  of  ownership  transparency 
requirements159.  Stakeholders  continue  to  underline  the  inadequacy  of  the  existing  legal 
framework  to  ensure  transparency  of  media  ownership  until  the  ongoing  legal  reforms  are 
completed160.  

The  reform  of  the  legal  framework  for  state  advertising  is  advancing,  although 
challenges  remain.  The  technical  work  on  the  reform  of  the  Institutional  Advertising  Law 
with  a  view  to  aligning  with  the  EMFA  was  completed  and  the  draft  was  adopted  by  the 
Council  of  Ministers  on  24  February  2026161.  The  draft  law  includes  measures  such  as 
establishing concrete criteria in the allocation of public funds and a state advertising ceiling of 
maximum  35%  of  turnover  of  a  media  service  provider.  In  the  meantime,  state  advertising 
continues  to  be  regulated  by  the  2005  law  and  stakeholders  continue  to  criticise  the  use  of 
institutional advertising for political  influence of media, notably during electoral  periods.  In 
their  view,  this  continues  to  result  in  discriminatory  treatment  of  some  media  service 
providers;  a  lack  of  relevant  information  about  recipients  and  amounts  of  such  funding;  as 
well as the absence of fair criteria in the allocation of public funds162. New legislation on state 
advertising has been adopted at regional level.  

There  has  been  significant  progress  on  the  recommendation  to  strengthen  access  to 
information following the approval by the Government of the draft Laws on Classified 
Information  and  Open  Administration163.  With  a  view  to  aligning  with  the  EMFA,  the 
Government  adopted  the  draft  Law  on  Classified  Information164  on  22  July  2025  and 
subsequently  submitted  it  to  Parliament,  although  a  number  of  its  provisions  have  drawn 
criticism  from  some  stakeholders165.  Concretely,  the  draft  requires  the  State  to  classify 
sensitive information that may affect its defence or national security, provides for the relevant 
procedures  and  time  limits,  establishes  competent  authorities  and  defines  the  right  to 
information based on professional interest (e.g. research or journalistic purposes). Information 
relating to serious human rights violations or crimes against humanity may not be classified. 
Furthermore, the draft provides for the automatic declassification of information once the time 
limit  established  for  each  of  the  four  categories  of  classified  information  has  elapsed.  In 
addition, in October 2025, the Government approved the draft Open Administration Law, in 
particular expanding transparency obligations relating to the functioning and activity of public 

159   2026 Media Pluralism Monitor, country report for Spain, p. 22. 
160   Foundation Hay Derecho (2026a), written input, p. 54; International Press Institute (2026), written input, p. 
19; European Federation of Journalists (2026), written input, p. 18; International Press Institute (2025), pp. 
7-8. 

161  Country visit Spain, Spanish Government; Spanish Government (2026), pp. 34-35. 
162   Country  visit  Spain,  Transparency  Council,  Journalists’  Associations;  Foundation  Hay  Derecho  (2026a), 
written input, p. 54; Asociación Impulso Ciudadano (2026), written input, pp. 2-3; European Federation of 
Journalists  (2026),  written  input,  p.  17;  Plataforma  en  Defensa  de  la  Libertad  de  Información  (PLI),  “La 
Libertad de Información en España: Balance 2025, p. 4; International Press Institute (2025), pp. 6-7. 

163   The 2025 Rule of Law Report recommended Spain to “advance with strengthening access to information, in 
particular via revision of the Law on Official Secrets, taking into account European standards on access to 
official documents”. Some progress was assessed on this recommendation in 2023, no further progress in 
2024 and no further progress in 2025. 

164   To replace the current Law on Official Secrets 9/1968 of 5 April 1968. 
165  Namely the Government’s margin of discretion to define what constitutes “classified information”; Spanish 
Government  (2026),  written  input,  p.  6;  Asociación  Impulso  Ciudadano  (2026),  written  input,  p.  7. 
Information relating to serious human rights violations or crimes against humanity may not be classified. 
Furthermore,  the  draft  provides  for  the  automatic  declassification  of  information  once  the  time  limit 
established  for  each  of  the  four  categories  of  classified  information  has  elapsed.  Spanish  Government 
(2026c), additional written input. 

17 

 
 
 
 
institutions166. After the ratification by Spain of the Council of Europe Convention on Access 
to  Official  Documents167,  the  Committee  of  Experts  of  the  Convention  has  positively 
evaluated  the  Spanish  Transparency  Act,  which  regulates  access  to  information168. 
Nevertheless,  under  the  current  framework,  stakeholders  continue  to  report  cases  where 
journalists  experience  difficulties  accessing  events  and  official  information169.  Overall, 
significant  progress  has  been  made  on  the  recommendation  to  strengthen  access  to 
information. 

Work  on  related  legislative  proposals  continues,  while  challenges  regarding  working 
conditions and safety of journalists persist, including online. In 2025, Parliament’s internal 
rules of procedure were amended to introduce a formal framework of accreditation rules and 
behavioral standards defining journalists’ access and working conditions inside Parliament, a 
development generally welcomed by stakeholders170. In July 2025, the Government approved 
the preliminary draft Organic Law regulating the right to secrecy of information professionals 
and  media  service  providers171.  The  proposal  to  amend  the  Citizen  Security  Law172  and  the 
draft Organic Law on Rectification173 are still being discussed in Parliament174. On 14 April 
2026,  the  Government  approved  two  preliminary  draft  laws  that  aim  to  transpose  the  EU 
Directive  on  strategic  lawsuits  against  public  participation  (SLAPP)  and  are  undergoing 
mandatory consultation175.  This  draft set  of measures covers also  domestic SLAPP cases. A 
EUR  70  million  Spanish  State  aid  scheme  has  been  approved  for  the  digitalisation  of  print 
media  intended  to  support  modernisation  of  activities,  ensure  economic  sustainability, 
improve resilience and competitiveness and promote media pluralism176. Since the publication 
of the 2025 Rule of Law Report, six new alerts have been recorded for Spain in the Council of 
Europe’s  Platform  to  Promote  the  Protection  of  Journalism  and  Safety  of  Journalists177, 
relating  to  attacks  on  physical  safety  and  integrity  and  harassment  and  intimidation  of 
journalists178.  The  Media  Freedom  Rapid  Response  platform179  has  recorded  53  new  alerts 
relating mainly to physical attacks, harassment, legal intimidation, obstruction of access and 
editorial  interference.  Stakeholders  continue  to  report  cases  of  physical  attacks,  online 

166  Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 6.   
167   The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (CETS No. 205), also known as the 

Tromsø Convention, entered into force on 1 December 2020. 

168  Spanish Government (2026a), written input, pp. 9-10. Law 19/2013 of 9 December 2013. 
169   Country visit Spain, Journalists’ Associations; Foundation Hay Derecho (2026a), written input, pp. 60-61; 
European  Federation  of  Journalists  (2026),  written  input,  p.  19;  Asociación  Impulso  Ciudadano  (2026), 
written  input,  p.  7;  Plataforma  en  Defensa  de  la  Libertad  de  Información  (PLI),  “La  Libertad  de 
Información en España: Balance 2025”, p. 3. 

170   Foundation Hay Derecho (2026a), written input, p. 60. 
171  Spanish Government (2026), p. 36. 
172   Congress  (2024).  It  would  provide  that  the  taking  of  images  of  police  actions  would  no  longer  be 

sanctioned. 

173   To replace Organic Law 2/1984, of 26 March, regulating the right of rectification and foreseeing that false 

or inaccurate information that causes harm to individuals can be publicly corrected. 

174  Country visit Spain, Spanish Government. 
175   Spanish  Government (2026), p.  41;  the  first  draft  would  amend both  the  Law  of  Civil Procedure  and  the 
Law on International Legal Cooperation in Civil Matters, while the second would amend the Organic Law 
on the Judiciary. See Directive (EU) 2024/1069 on the protection of persons involved in public participation 
from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive legal proceedings (SLAPP). 

176   Decision number SA.119861, available in the State aid register on the Commission's competition website. 
177   Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists, Spain. 
178   Spain has replied to four alerts. 
179   The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is a Europe-wide mechanism that tracks, monitors and reacts 

to press and media freedom violations in EU member states and candidate countries. 

18 

 
 
 
 
harassment  and  targeting  by  public  officials  or  political  figures180.  In  particular,  a  recent 
report  presented  by  the  Spanish  Ministry  of  Equality  notes  that  73%  of  Spanish  women 
journalists  suffer  from  continuous  harassment  on  social  media,  resulting  in  self-censorship, 
among other consequences181. As regards journalists’ working conditions, stakeholders report 
on  their  precariousness  as  ultimately  undermining  journalistic  independence  and  as 
exacerbated  by  short-term  contracts,  the  impact  of  AI  and  the  media  market’s  challenges 
stemming from its increasing digitalisation182. 

IV.  OTHER INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES RELATED TO CHECKS AND BALANCES 

The Court of Justice has delivered two judgments following preliminary ruling requests 
on  the  Amnesty  Law;  other  requests  for  a  preliminary  ruling  are  pending  before  the 
Court of Justice. The Amnesty Law183 entered into force on 11 June 2024 and was declared 
by  the  Spanish  Constitutional  Court  to  be  compatible  with  the  Constitution  on  26  June 
2025184.  Certain  aspects  of  the  law  were  referred  to  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European 
Union  for  a  preliminary  ruling  by  Spanish  Courts185.  On  16  July  2026,  the  Court  issued 
judgments  in  two  of  these  preliminary  ruling  cases186,  and  other  requests  for  a  preliminary 
ruling are pending before the Court of Justice187. 

More than half of companies surveyed in Spain express confidence in the effectiveness 
of investment protection. 52% of companies are very or fairly confident that investments are 
protected by law and courts, a figure which has increased in comparison with 2025 (47%)188. 
As regards authorities relevant for economic operators, 42% of companies perceive the level 
of  independence  of  the  national  competition  authority  (National  Markets  and  Competition 
Commission) as very or fairly good, a figure which has significantly decreased in comparison 
with  2025  (62%)189.  The  Supreme  Court  has  jurisdiction  in  several  business-related  cases, 
including  in  cases  related  to  public  procurement,  public  concessions,  public  contracts  and 
economic regulation. A number of judicial mechanisms to improve efficiency are available in 

180   Foundation Hay Derecho (2026a), written input, pp. 58-59; Asociación Impulso Ciudadano (2026), written 
input, pp. 8-9; European Federation of Journalists (2026), written input, p. 18; International Press Institute 
(2026), written input, p. 20; Platform for the Defence of Freedom of Information (2026), pp. 1-2. 

181   Comunicado  Asociación  de  la  Prensa  de  Madrid  “Manifiesto  8M:  La  APM  reivindica  igualdad  salarial, 

acceso a los puestos directivos y que cese el acoso a las periodistas” published on 06.03.2026. 

182   Country visit Spain, Journalists’ Associations. 
183   Organic  Law  1/2024  of  10  June  on  Amnesty  for  the  Institutional,  Political  and  Social  Normalisation  of 

Catalonia. 

184   The  Amnesty  Law  provides  for  an  amnesty  applying  to  acts  and  events  encompassing  criminal, 
administrative  or  accounting  liability,  defined  both  in  terms  of  the  dates  of  the  acts  and  their  connection 
with events around the “independence process” in Catalonia. See 2025 Rule of Law Report, Spain, pp. 17-
18. 

185   C-523/24, C-587/24, C-666/24 and C-123/25. 
186  C-523/24 and C-666/24. 
187  C-587/24 and C-123/25. 
188   Figures  52  and  53,  2026  EU  Justice  Scoreboard.  Only  19%  and  only  15%  of  the  surveyed  investors 
respectively perceive concerns about quality, efficiency or independence of justice and frequent changes in 
legislation or concerns about the quality of the law-making process as a reason for the lack of confidence in 
investment protection. 

189   Figure 60, 2026 EU Justice Scoreboard. 

19 

 
 
 
these cases, including the possibility to apply interim measures, joint examination of similar 
cases and the consolidation of multiple appeals190. 

The draft law amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, including as regards popular 
action  in  criminal  investigations,  is  under  discussion  in  the  Parliament.  Popular  action 
(acción  popular)  is  a  legal  procedural  mechanism,  enshrined  in  Article  125  of  the  Spanish 
Constitution  and  developed  in  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  which  enables  natural  and 
legal  persons  to  bring  criminal  action  and  intervene  in  criminal  proceedings  as  a  party 
without being directly affected or harmed by a criminal offence. The draft law amending the 
Code  of  Criminal  Procedure191,  tabled  in  the  Parliament  in  October  2025,  includes  certain 
amendments with the aim to prevent perceived abuses of the mechanism on popular action. 
The proposed legislation intends to restrict the scope of criminal offences eligible for popular 
action, requiring  individuals to  demonstrate a direct,  relevant,  and substantial  connection to 
the  public  interest  at  stake  in  the  related  criminal  proceedings,  and  prohibiting  political 
parties,  their  affiliated  associations,  judges,  prosecutors,  and  their  respective  associations 
from exercising this right.  

On 1 January 2026, Spain had 18 leading judgments of the European Court of Human 
Rights pending implementation, a decrease of 5 as compared with the previous year192. 
At  that  time,  Spain’s  rate  of  leading  judgments  from  the  past  10  years  that  had  been 
implemented  was  at  62%  (compared  to  52%  in  2025;  38%  remained  pending),  and  the 
average time that the judgments had been pending implementation was 4 years (compared to 
3  years  and  3  months  in  2025)193.  The  oldest  leading  judgment,  which  became  final  more 
than 11 years ago, concerns the lack of an effective suspensive remedy against decisions to 
remove  asylum  seekers194.  As  regards  the  respect  of  payment  deadlines,  on  31  December 
2025  there  were  3  cases  in  total  awaiting  confirmation  of  payments  (compared  to  one  in 
2024)195.  By  17  June  2026,  the  number  of  leading  judgments  pending  implementation  had 
increased to 22196.  

Various  initiatives  aimed  at  increasing  public  participation  in  policymaking  and 
fostering  a  rule  of  law  culture  continued.  Stakeholder  consultation  in  policy  making  is  a 
common practice and a centralised online platform is provided for participation and access to 
planning  and  transparency197,  although  some  stakeholders  consider  that  meaningful 
participation in legislative consultations is limited198. The Ombudsperson199, which is also the 
national  human  rights  institution,  accredited  with  A  status  by  the  UN  Global  Alliance  of 

190   Figures 66 and 67, 2026 EU Justice Scoreboard. The data presented reflects exclusively the mechanisms in 
place at the level of the highest administrative jurisdictions; the same or other mechanisms may be in place 
at lower instance administrative courts. 

191   Congress (2025b). 
192   For an explanation of the supervision process, see the website of the Council of Europe.  
193   All figures calculated by the European Implementation Network (EIN) and based on the number of cases 
that  are  considered  pending  at  the  annual  cut-off  date  of  1  January  2026.  European  Implementation 
Network (2026), written input, p. 8. 

194   Judgment  of  the  ECtHR,  6528/11,  A.C.  and  Others  v.  Spain,  pending  implementation  since  2014.  The 
Council of Europe is examining the case and has requested comments from Spain by 30 October 2026. 

195   Council of Europe: Committee of Ministers (2026), p. 163. 
196   Data according to the online database of the Council of Europe (HUDOC). 
197  OECD  (2025),  p.  180.  In  2025,  a  minimum  15-day  period  for  public  consultation  was  introduced  by 

legislative amendment, Spanish Government (2026), written input, p. 41. 

198  Country  visit  Spain,  CCOO,  CEOE,  CEPYME,  Coordinator  of  Non-Governmental  Organisations  for 

Development in Spain and Platform “Tercer Sector”. 

199   The Ombudsperson published its annual report in March 2026. 

20 

 
 
 
National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), continued to fulfil a key role in the system of 
checks and balances, and assumed additional tasks with regard to compensation of victims in 
certain  specific  cases  when  a  judicial  action  is  not  feasible  for  procedural  reasons200. 
Initiatives  aimed  at  fostering  a  rule  of  law  culture  include  the  VI  Congress  of  the  World 
Conference  on  Constitutional  Justice,  hosted  in  Madrid  in  October  2025,  and  the  official 
commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights by the 
Spanish Government on 5 November 2025201.  

The  draft  law  to  reform  the  Citizen  Security  Law  to  address  concerns  raised  by 
stakeholders remains pending in Parliament. Civil society space continues to be rated as 
“narrowed”  by  Civicus202,  while  the  Spanish  Ombudsperson  notes  that  the  human  rights 
situation and civil society environment can be considered open203. The draft law was tabled in 
October  2024  with  the  aim  to  respond  to  the  concerns  voiced  by  stakeholders  about  the 
current  law’s  impact  on  the  rights  of  assembly  and  freedom  of  expression,  as  well  as  its 
effects on the civic space and the activities of human rights defenders and journalists204.  

200   This  relates  to  cases  of  sexual  abuse  within  the  Catholic  Church.  Ministry  of  the  Presidency,  Justice  and 

Relations with the Parliament (2026b). 

201   Spanish Government (2026), written input, pp. 47-48. 
202   Spain’s  score  is  68/100.  Ratings  by  CIVICUS  are  on  a  five-category  scale  defined  as:  open,  narrowed, 

obstructed, repressed and closed. 

203   Ombudsperson (2026), written input, p. 3. 
204   Fundamental Rights Agency (2026), written input, pp. 3-4; Civil Liberties Union for Europe (2026), p. 805; 

European Civic Forum (2026), written input, pp. 7-9. 

21 

 
 
 
Annex I: List of sources in alphabetical order* 

* The list of contributions received in the context of the consultation for the 2026 Rule of Law Report 
can 
https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2026-rule-law-report-targeted-
stakeholder-consultation_en. 

found 

be 

at 

Asociación Impulso Ciudadano (2026), Input from Asociación Impulso Ciudadano for the 2026 Rule 
of Law Report. 

Association of Prosecutors (2026),  Input from Association of Prosecutors for the 2026 Rule of Law 
Report. 

CCOO  (2026),  The  challenges  of  the  Rule  of  Law  in  resolving  conflicts  between  employers  and 
workers  (Los  retos  del  Estado  de  Derecho  en  la  resolución  de  conflictos  entre  empleadores  y 
trabajadores), 25 February 2026. 

Civic  Platform  for  the  Judicial  Independence  (2026),  Input  from  Civic  Platform  for  the  Judicial 
Independence for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Civil  Liberties  Union  for  Europe  (2026),  Liberties  Rule  of  Law  Report,  24  March  2026, 
https://www.liberties.eu/f/wtaqoq. 

Congress  (2024),  Proposal  for  an  Organic  Law on the  Protection  of  Freedoms and  Citizen  Security 
(Proposición de Ley Orgánica de protección de las libertades y seguridad ciudadana) (122/000131), 
4 
https://www.congreso.es/es/busqueda-de-
iniciativas?p_p_id=iniciativas&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_iniciativas_
mode=mostrarDetalle&_iniciativas_legislatura=XV&_iniciativas_id=122/000131. 

Otober 

2024, 

Congress  (2025),  Proposal  for  an  Organic  Law  amending  Organic  Law  6/1985  of  1  July  on  the 
Judiciary and Law 50/1981 of 30 December regulating the Organic Statute of the Public Prosecution 
Service,  to  expand and strengthen the  judicial  and  prosecutorial careers (Proyecto  de  Ley  Orgánica 
por la que se modifica la Ley Orgánica 6/1985, de 1 de julio, del Poder Judicial, y la Ley 50/1981, de 
30 de diciembre, por la que se regula el Estatuto Orgánico del Ministerio Fiscal, para la ampliación 
y 
(121/000059),  16  May  2025, 
las  carreras 
https://www.congreso.es/es/busqueda-de-
iniciativas?p_p_id=iniciativas&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_iniciativas_
mode=mostrarDetalle&_iniciativas_legislatura=XV&_iniciativas_id=121/000059. 

fortalecimiento  de 

judicial  y 

fiscal) 

Congress  (2025a),  Proposal  for  an  Organic  Law  amending  Organic  Law  6/1985,  of  1  July,  on  the 
Judiciary,  on  the  modification  of  the  model  of  election  of  the  members  of  the  Council  for  the 
Judiciary (Proposición de Ley Orgánica de modificación de la Ley Orgánica 6/1985, de 1 de julio, del 
Poder Judicial, para el cambio del modelo de elección de los vocales del Consejo General del Poder 
https://www.congreso.es/es/busqueda-de-
Judicial) 
iniciativas?p_p_id=iniciativas&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_iniciativas_
mode=mostrarDetalle&_iniciativas_legislatura=XV&_iniciativas_id=122/000229. 

(122/000229), 

October 

2025, 

24 

Congress (2025b), Draft law amending the Code of Criminal Procedure (Proyecto de Ley Orgánica de 
Enjuiciamiento  Criminal)  (121/000074),  30  October  2025,  https://www.congreso.es/es/busqueda-de-
iniciativas?p_p_id=iniciativas&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_iniciativas_
mode=mostrarDetalle&_iniciativas_legislatura=XV&_iniciativas_id=121/000074. 

Congress (2026), Input from Congress for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Council for the Judiciary (2024), The Council for the Judiciary informs judicial associations about the 
ongoing actions to protect the occupational health and safety of the judiciary (El CGPJ informa a las 
asociaciones  judiciales  de  las  actuaciones  en  marcha  para  la  protección  de  la  salud  laboral  de  la 
2024, 
Carrera 
https://www.poderjudicial.es/portal/site/cgpj/menuitem.65d2c4456b6ddb628e635fc1dc432ea0/?vgnex

Judicial), 

May 

29 

22 

 
 
 
toid=3c2f6292b44cf810VgnVCM1000004648ac0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=be4105063580d210VgnV
CM100000cb34e20aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&vgnextlocale=es&lang_choosen=es.  

Council for the Judiciary (2024a), Strategic Plan for human resources in the Judicial Career for the 
decade 2023–2032 (Plan Estratégico para el decenio 2023-2032 de recursos humanos en la Carrera 
Judicial),  11  July  2024,  https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Poder-Judicial/Consejo-General-del-
Poder-Judicial/Actividad-del-CGPJ/Estudios/Plan-Estrategico-para-el-decenio-2023-2032-de-
recursos-humanos-en-la-Carrera-Judicial--Acuerdo-CP-CGPJ-11-07-2024-.  

Council for the Judiciary (2025), Report on the Status, Functioning, and Activities of the Council for 
the  Judiciary  and  of  the  Courts  and  Tribunals  in  the  year  2024  (Memoria  sobre  el  estado, 
funcionamiento y actividades del Consejo General Del Poder Judicial y de los juzgados y tribunales 
en  el  año  2024),  5  September  2025,  https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Poder-Judicial/Consejo-
General-del-Poder-Judicial/Actividad-del-CGPJ/Memorias/Memoria-anual-2025--correspondiente-al-
ejercicio-2024-. 

Council  for  the  Judiciary  (2025a),  Speech  of  the  President  of  the  Council  for  the  Judiciary  and 
Supreme Court, Ms Isabel Perelló, during the opening of the judicial year (Discurso de la presidenta 
del  Consejo  General  del  Poder  Judicial  y  del  Tribunal  Supremo,  Doña  Isabel  Perelló,  durante  la 
apertura 
2025, 
judicial), 
https://www.poderjudicial.es/portal/site/cgpj/menuitem.65d2c4456b6ddb628e635fc1dc432ea0/?vgnex
toid=fbac0cb702919910VgnVCM1000004648ac0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ea1732cd1ddaa210VgnV
CM100000cb34e20aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&vgnextlocale=en&lang_choosen=en.  

September 

año 

del 

5 

Council for the Judiciary (2025b), Agreements of the Plenary Session of the Council for the Judiciary 
of 26 November 2025 – Extraordinary session (Acuerdos del Pleno del CGPJ de 26 de noviembre de 
2025, 
2025 
https://www.poderjudicial.es/portal/site/cgpj/menuitem.65d2c4456b6ddb628e635fc1dc432ea0/?vgnex
toid=1231da9a403ca910VgnVCM1000004648ac0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=b59fd098b243b510VgnV
CM1000006f48ac0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&vgnextlocale=es_ES.  

Extraordinario), 

November 

26 

– 

Council for the Judiciary (2025c), Strategic Plan for  human resources in the Judicial Career for the 
decade 2026–2035 (Plan Estratégico para el decenio 2026-2035 de recursos humanos en la Carrera 
Judicial),  16  December  2025,  https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Poder-Judicial/Consejo-General-
del-Poder-Judicial/Actividad-del-CGPJ/Estudios/Plan-Estrategico-para-el-decenio-2026-2035-de-
recursos-humanos-en-la-Carrera-Judicial--Acuerdo-CP-CGPJ-16-12-2025-.  

Council for the Judiciary (2026), Input from the Council for the Judiciary for the 2026 Rule of Law 
Report. 

Council  for the  Judiciary  (2026a),  Agreement  of  28  January  2026  approving  Instruction  2/2026,  on 
the use of artificial intelligence systems in the exercise of judicial activities (Acuerdo de 28 de enero 
de  2026,  del  Pleno  del  Consejo  General  del  Poder  Judicial,  por  el  que  se  aprueba  la  Instrucción 
2/2026,  sobre  la  utilización  de  sistemas  de  inteligencia  artificial  en  el  ejercicio  de  la  actividad 
jurisdiccional), 30 January 2026, https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-2205.  

Council for the Judiciary (2026b), The Council for the Judiciary unanimously agrees to take note of 
the closure of four  preliminary inquiries opened into Judge Juan Carlos Peinado (El CGPJ acuerda 
por  unanimidad  tomar  conocimiento  del  archivo  de  cuatro  diligencias  informativas  incoadas  al 
magistrado  Juan  Carlos  Peinado),  24  March  2026,  https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Poder-
Judicial/Consejo-General-del-Poder-Judicial/En-Portada/El-CGPJ-acuerda-por-unanimidad-tomar-
conocimiento-del-archivo-de-cuatro-diligencias-informativas-incoadas-al-magistrado-Juan-Carlos-
Peinado. 

Council  for  the  Judiciary  (2026c),  The  Council  for  the  Judiciary  appoints  two  judges  to  the  Fifth 
Chamber  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  presidents  of  the  High  Courts  of  Justice  of  the  Basque 
Country and the Canary Islands (El CGPJ nombra a dos magistrados de la Sala Quinta del Tribunal 
Supremo  y  a  los  presidentes  de  los  TSJ  del  País  Vasco  y  Canarias),  27  May  2026, 

23 

 
 
https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Poder-Judicial/En-Portada/El-CGPJ-nombra-a-dos-magistrados-
de-la-Sala-Quinta-del-Tribunal-Supremo-y-a-los-presidentes-de-los-TSJ-del-Pais-Vasco-y-Canarias. 

Council for the Judiciary (2026d), The Council for the Judiciary approves the call for examinations 
for the Judicial and Prosecutorial Careers, offering 575 positions (El CGPJ acuerda la convocatoria 
de las pruebas de acceso a las Carreras Judicial y Fiscal, en la que se ofertarán 575 plazas), 27 May 
2026, 
https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Poder-Judicial/Consejo-General-del-Poder-Judicial/En-
Portada/El-CGPJ-acuerda-la-convocatoria-de-las-pruebas-de-acceso-a-las-Carreras-Judicial-y-Fiscal--
en-la-que-se-ofertaran-575-plazas-. 

Council for the Judiciary (2026e), Statement by the Permanent Committee (Declaración institucional 
de  la  Comisión  Permanente),  2  June  2026,  https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Poder-Judicial/En-
Portada/Declaracion-institucional-de-la-Comision-Permanente-.  

Council for the Judiciary (2026f), Agreement of 4 June 2026 of the Selection Committee referred to in 
Article 305 of the Organic Law on the Judiciary […] (Acuerdo de 4 de junio de 2026, de la Comisión 
de Selección a la que se refiere el artículo 305 de la Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial […]), 15 June 
2026, https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2026/06/15/pdfs/BOE-A-2026-12918.pdf  

selectivo 

Council  for  the  Judiciary  (2026g),  Agreement  of  9  June  2026  of  the  Permanent  Committee  of  the 
Council of the Judiciary, announcing a selection process to fill vacancies […] (Acuerdo de 9 de junio 
de 2026, de la Comisión Permanente del Consejo General del Poder Judicial, por el que se convoca 
2026, 
la 
proceso 
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2026/06/15/pdfs/BOE-A-2026-12913.pdf; 
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2026/06/15/pdfs/BOE-A-2026-12914.pdf; 
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2026/06/15/pdfs/BOE-A-2026-12915.pdf; 
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2026/06/15/pdfs/BOE-A-2026-12916.pdf; 
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2026/06/15/pdfs/BOE-A-2026-12917.pdf. 

provisión 

plazas 

[…]), 

para 

June 

15 

de 

Council  for the  Judiciary  (2026h),  The  Permanent  Committee  agrees  to  forward  to  the  Head  of  the 
Disciplinary  Action  the  order  issued  last  Saturday  by  Justice  Juan  Carlos  Peinado  (La  Comisión 
Permanente acuerda remitir al Promotor de la Acción Disciplinaria el auto dictado el pasado sábado 
por el magistrado Juan Carlos Peinado), 22 June 2026,  https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Poder-
Judicial/Consejo-General-del-Poder-Judicial/En-Portada/La-Comision-Permanente-acuerda-remitir-
al-Promotor-de-la-Accion-Disciplinaria-el-auto-dictado-el-pasado-sabado-por-el-magistrado-Juan-
Carlos-Peinado 

Council of Europe: Committee of Ministers (2010), Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to 
member  states  on  judges:  independence,  efficiency  and  responsibilities  (CM/Rec(2010)12),  17 
2010, 
November 
https://search.coe.int/cm#{%22CoEIdentifier%22:[%2209000016805afb78%22],%22sort%22:[%22C
oEValidationDate%20Descending%22]}. 

Council  of  Europe:  Committee  of  Ministers  (2026),  Supervision  of  the  execution  of  judgments  and 
decisions  of  the  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  –  19th  Annual  Report  of  the  Committee  of 
Ministers, March 2026, https://rm.coe.int/2025-annual-report/48802b1633.  

Council of Europe: Consultative Council of European Judges (2015), Opinion n°18 "The position of 
the  judiciary  and  its  relation  with  the  other  powers  of  state  in  a  modern  democracy",  16  October 
2015, https://rm.coe.int/4880152a92.  

Council  of  Europe:  GRECO  (2019),  Fifth  Evaluation  Round  –  Evaluation  Report  on  Spain  on 
preventing corruption and promoting integrity in central Governments (top executive functions) and 
law 
enforcement  agencies,  https://rm.coe.int/fifth-evaluation-round-preventing-corruption-and-
promoting-integrity-i/168098c691  

Council  of  Europe:  GRECO  (2025),  Addendum  to the  Second  Compliance  Report,  Fifth  Evaluation 
Round,  Spain,  https://rm.coe.int/grecorc5-2025-17-final-eng-add-to-2nd-compliance-report-spain-
public/1680b6ce89 

24 

 
 
Council  of  Europe:  GRECO  (2025a),  Second  Compliance  Report,  Fifth  Evaluation  Round,  Spain, 
https://rm.coe.int/grecorc5-2023-8-final-eng-2nd-compliance-report-spain-public/1680b547d8. 

Council of Europe: Venice Commission (2013), Opinion on the Legislation on Defamation in Italy, 
adopted  by  the  Venice  Commission  at  its  97th  Plenary  Session  (CDL-AD(2013)038),  9  December 
2013. 

Council  of  Europe:  Venice  Commission  (2025),  Spain  -  Opinion  on  the  manner  of  election  of  the 
judicial members of the General Council for the Judiciary (CDL-AD(2025)038-e), 13 October 2025, 
https://www.coe.int/en/web/venice-commission/-/cdl-ad-2025-038-e. 

Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists – Spain, 
Alerts | Safety of journalists platform. 

Court  of  Auditors  (2025),  Compliance  Audit  Report:  The  Principle  of  Transparency  for  Political 
Parties, 24 June 2025, https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2025/08/16/pdfs/BOE-A-2025-16946.pdf.  

EPPO 
Report, 
2025/pdfs/EPPO_Annual_Report_2025_en.pdf. 

(2026), 

Annual 

https://www.eppo.europa.eu/assets/annual-report-

European Civic Forum (2026), ECF Rule of Law Contribution 2026, March 2026. 

European  Commission  for  the  Efficiency  of  Justice  (2026),  Study  on  the  functioning  of  judicial 
systems in the EU Member States, Facts and figures from the CEPEJ questionnaires 2024 to 2024. 

European  Commission  (2024),  2024  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country  Chapter  on  the  rule  of  law 
situation 
in  Spain,  https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/2bd09a6f-ef56-494a-8303-
e0de808ee981_en?filename=23_1_58063_coun_chap_spain_en_0.pdf. 

European  Commission  (2025),  2025  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country  Chapter  on  the  rule  of  law 
situation 
in  Spain,  https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/3457bf3b-e321-49af-80fd-
de0617ef5b28_en?filename=13_1_63945_coun_chap_spain_en.pdf. 

European  Commission  (2026a),  Recommendation  for  a  Council  Recommendation  on  the  economic, 
social, 
https://reforms-
of 
budgetary 
investments.ec.europa.eu/document/download/180b587b-489b-4339-97bb-
1f6ce8ad4df2_en?filename=ES-COM_2026_209_1_EN_ACT_part1_v4.pdf.  

employment, 

structural 

policies 

Spain, 

and 

Commission 

European 
https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/d1367f58-9eed-4ebd-8eb3-
68646b7c7ddc_en?filename=2026_eu_justice_scoreboard.PDF.  

(2026b), 

2026 

EU 

Justice 

Scoreboard, 

European  Court  of  Human  Rights,  judgment  of  22  April  2014,  6528/11,  A.C.  and  Others  v.  Spain, 
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-142467%22]}. 

European Implementation Network (2026), Input from the European Implementation Network for the 
2026 Rule of Law Report. 

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, Media Freedom Rapid Response Mechanism – Spain 
(2025), Press Freedom Violations Monitoring. 

Foundation  Hay  Derecho  (2025),  Input  from  Foundation  Hay  Derecho  for  the  2025  Rule  of  Law 
Report. 

Foundation  Hay  Derecho  (2026),  Input  from  Foundation  Hay  Derecho  for  the  2026  Rule  of  Law 
Report. 

Foundation  Hay  Derecho  (2026a),  2026  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Targeted  stakeholder  consultation 
(English version). 

Fundamental Rights Agency (2026), Civic space in the EU in 2025, Spain. 

General  Council  of  Spanish  Lawyers  (2026),  The  legal  profession  calls  for  respect  for  judicial 
decisions and urges the drafting of a new protocol in coordination with the Public Prosecutor’s Office 

25 

 
 
(La Abogacía pide respeto a las decisiones judiciales y urge a confeccionar un nuevo protocolo de 
conformidad  con  la  Fiscalía),  20  November  2025,  https://www.abogacia.es/actualidad/noticias/la-
abogacia-pide-respeto-a-las-decisiones-judiciales-y-urge-a-confeccionar-un-nuevo-protocolo-de-
conformidad-con-la-fiscalia/.  

Independent  Authority  for  Whistleblower  Protection  (Autoridad  Independiente  de  Protección  del 
Informante -AIPI) (2026), Input for the 2026 Rule of Law report. 

Independent Judicial Forum (2026), Input from Independent Judicial Forum for the 2026 Rule of Law 
Report. 

Independent  Office  on  Supervision  of  Public  Procurement  (2025),  Annual  report,  Conclusions  and 
recommendations. 

International  Press  Institute  (2025),  Media  Capture  Monitoring  Report:  Spain  Measuring  EMFA 
Compliance,  December  2025,  https://journalismresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SPAIN-
media-Capture-Monitoring-Report-Overview-1.pdf  

Judges  and  Magistrates  Association  “Francisco  de  Vitoria”  (2026),  Input  from  Judges  and 
Magistrates Association “Francisco de Vitoria” for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Letrados  de  la  Administración  de  Justicia  (Rechtspfleger)  (2026),  Input  from  Letrados  de  la 
Administración de Justicia (Rechtspfleger) for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Law 2/2024 of 27 June on the Corporació Audiovisual de la Comunitat Valenciana (CACVSA). 

Media Pluralism Monitor (2026), Spain country report. 

Ministry  of  the  Presidency,  Justice  and  Relations  with  the  Parliament  (2026),  Draft  Royal  Decree 
establishing 500 judicial units corresponding to the 2026 programming and adaptation of the judicial 
staff (Proyecto de Real Decreto de creación de quinientas unidades judiciales correspondientes a la 
programación  de  2026  y  de  adecuación  de 
judicial),  26  January  2026, 
https://www.mjusticia.gob.es/es/ElMinisterio/GabineteComunicacion/Documents/RD-
Creaci%c3%b3n%20plazas%20judiciales%202026.pdf.  

la  planta 

Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Parliament (2026a), The Government will 
create and open applications for 200 public prosecutor posts in 2026, a historic record (El Gobierno 
creará  y  convocará  200  plazas  de  fiscales  en  2026,  un  récord  histórico),  11  March  2026, 
https://www.mjusticia.gob.es/es/institucional/gabinete-comunicacion/noticias-ministerio/fiscales-
2026. 

Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Parliament (2026b), Protocol between the 
Ministry  of  the  Presidency,  Justice  and  Relations  with  Parliament;  the  Ombudsperson;  the  Spanish 
Episcopal  Conference;  and  the  Spanish  Conference  of  Religious  Persons,  for  the  organisation  and 
functioning  of  the  system  for  the  recognition  and  reparation  of  victims  of  sexual  abuse  within  the 
Catholic  Church  (Protocolo  entre  el  Ministerio  de  la  Presidencia,  Justicia  y  Relaciones  con  las 
Cortes; el Defensor del Pueblo; la Conferencia Episcopal Española; y la Conferencia Española  de 
Religiosos, para la organización y funcionamiento del sistema de reconocimiento y reparación de las 
víctimas  de  abusos  sexuales  en  el  ámbito  de 
la  Iglesia  Católica),  30  March  2026, 
https://www.defensordelpueblo.es/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Protocolo-reconocimiento-y-
reparacion.pdf.  

National Anti-Fraud Coordination Service (2026), Input for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

OECD  (2025),  Better  Regulation  Practices  across  the  European  Union  2025,  29  September  2025, 
https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2025/09/better-regulation-practices-
across-the-european-union-2025_a3dfd5e6/6f007516-en.pdf.  

(2025a),  Anti-Bribery  Convention  Phase 

OECD 
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-anti-bribery-convention-phase-4-follow-up-report-on-
spain_4f4eb067-en.html.  

4,  Follow-up  Report 

on 

Spain, 

26 

 
 
Office for Conflicts of Interest (2025) Report on the fulfilment of senior officials with the obligations 
provided for in law 3/2015, of 30 March, regulating the exercise of senior office in the general state 
administration,  https://digital.gob.es/funcion-publica/incompatibilidad-y-conflicto-intereses/informe-
cumplimiento-altos-cargos.  

Ombudsperson 
https://www.defensordelpueblo.es/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Defensor-del-Pueblo_Informe-anual-
2024.pdf.  

(Informe 

Annual 

(2025), 

Annual 

Report 

2024 

2024), 

Ombudsperson (2026), Input from the Ombudsperson for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Ombudsperson 
https://www.defensordelpueblo.es/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Defensor-del-Pueblo_Informe-anual-
2025.pdf.  

(Informe 

(2026a), 

Annual 

Report 

Anual 

2025 

2025), 

Organic  Law  6/1985,  of  1  July,  on  the  Judiciary  (Ley  Orgánica  6/1985,  de  1  de  julio,  del  Poder 
Judicial), https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1985-12666. 

Organic Law 1/2024 of 10 June on Amnesty for the Institutional, Political and Social Normalisation 
of Catalonia (Ley Orgánica 1/2024, de 10 de junio, de amnistía para la normalización institucional, 
política y social en Cataluña), https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2024-11776. 

Organic Law 1/2025, of 2 January 2025, on measures relating to the efficiency of the Public  Justice 
Service  (Ley  Orgánica  1/2025,  de  2  de  enero,  de  medidas  en  materia  de  eficiencia  del  Servicio 
Público de Justicia), https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2025-76. 

Platform for the Defence of Freedom of Information (2026), Freedom of Information in Spain, 2025 
Información  en  España,  Balance  2025),  13  January  2026, 
Review 
https://libertadinformacion.cc/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Balance-2025_libertad-informacion-
Espana.pdf  

(La  Libertad  de 

Professional Association of Magistracy (2026), Input from Professional Association of Magistracy for 
the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Regulation  (EU)  2024/1083  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  April  2024 
establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 
2010/13/EU (European Media Freedom Act). 

Royal Decree-Law 5/2024, of 22 October, amending Law 17/2006, of 5 June, on state-owned radio 
and  television,  to  adopt  urgent  measures  relating  to  the  legal  regime  applicable  to  the  RTVE 
Corporation. 

Senate  (2025),  Proposal  for  an  Organic  Law  amending  Organic  Law  6/1985,  of  1  July,  on  the 
Judiciary,  on  the  modification  of  the  model  of  election  of  the  members  of  the  Council  for  the 
Judiciary (Proposición de Ley Orgánica de modificación de la Ley Orgánica 6/1985, de 1 de julio, del 
Poder Judicial, para el cambio del modelo de elección de los vocales del Consejo General del Poder 
Judicial) 
2025, 
https://www.senado.es/web/actividadparlamentaria/iniciativas/detalleiniciativa/index.html?legis=15&i
d1=622&id2=000090. 

(622/000090), 

November 

6 

Spanish Chamber of Commerce (2026), Input from the Spanish Chamber of Commerce for the 2026 
Rule of Law Report. 

Spanish Government (2026), Input from Spain for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Spanish Government (2026a), Additional written input from Spain for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Spanish Government (2026b), Additional written input from Spain for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Spanish Government (2026c), Additional written input from Spain for the 2026 Rule of Law Report, 
factual comments to the draft chapter. 

27 

 
 
Supreme  Court  (2025),  judgment  of  9  December  2025,  5365/2025,  ECLI:ES:TS:2025:5365, 
https://www.poderjudicial.es/search/AN/openDocument/0217b6148cd22fb2a0a8778d75e36f0d/20251
210.  

Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Supreme  Court  (2026),  Input  from  the  Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Supreme 
Court for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Technical Cabinet of the Supreme Court (2026a), additional written input from the Technical Cabinet 
of the Supreme Court for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office (2026), Input from the Technical Cabinet of the 
Prosecutor General’s Office for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Prosecutor  General’s  Office  (2026a),  additional  written  input  from  the 
Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Prosecutor  General’s  Office  (2026b),  additional  written  input  from  the 
Technical  Cabinet  of  the  Prosecutor  General’s  Office  for  the  2026  Rule  of  Law  Report  regarding 
corruption case statistics. 

Transparency Council (2026), additional written input for the 2026 Rule of Law Report. 

Transparency  International  Spain (2025),  Strengthening  integrity,  Analysis and Observations  on  the 
Spanish Government's State Plan to Combat Corruption, 100 recommendations for a national anti-
corruption strategy.  

28 

 
 
Annex II: Country visit to Spain 

The Commission services held virtual meetings in February 2026 with: 

•  Association of “Abogados del Estado” 
•  Association of European Journalists 
•  Association of Media Users 
•  Association of Prosecutors 
•  Association of Women Judges of Spain 
•  Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers 
•  Civic Platform for the Judicial Independence 
•  Civil Guard 
•  Constitutional Court 
•  Coordinator of Non-Governmental Organisations for Development in Spain 
•  Council for the Judiciary 
•  Court of Auditors 
•  Foundation Hay Derecho 
•  General Council of Spanish Lawyers 
•  General Union of Workers (UGT) 
• 
Independent Judicial Forum 
•  Judges and Magistrates Association “Francisco de Vitoria” 
•  Judges for Democracy 
•  Letrados de la Administración de Justicia (Rechtspfleger) 
•  Ministry of Digital Transformation and Civil Service 
•  Ministry of Finance, Commerce and Companies 
•  Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation 
•  Ministry of Home Affairs 
•  Ministry of Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Parliament 
•  National Commission of Markets and Competition 
•  National Police 
•  News Council of RTVE 
•  Ombudsperson 
•  Platform “Tercer Sector” 
•  Platform for the Defence of Freedom of Information 
•  Professional and Independent Association of Prosecutors 
•  Professional Association of Magistracy (APM) 
•  Progressive Union of Prosecutors 
•  Representatives of Congress and Senate 
•  Spanish Chamber of Commerce 
•  Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organisations (CEOE) 
•  Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CEPYME) 
•  Supreme Court 
•  Technical Cabinet of the Prosecutor General’s Office 
•  Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) 

29 

 
 
•  Transparency Council 
•  Transparency International Spain 
•  Xnet 

* The Commission also met the following organisations in a number of horizontal meetings:  

•  Civil Liberties Union for Europe 
•  Civil Society Europe 
•  End FGM EU 
•  European Civic Forum 
•  European Partnership for Democracy 
•  Human Rights Watch 
• 
ILGA-Europe 
• 
International Federation for Human Rights 
•  Philea - Philanthropy Europe Association 
•  Transparency International EU 

30