The government’s widely publicised anti-corruption plan remains largely unimplemented, the European Commission says, despite Spain’s limited progress on reform. In its 2025 rule of law report, Brussels says Spain has yet to strengthen rules on conflicts of interest and asset declarations for senior officials, even after approving the State Anti-Corruption Plan and beginning discussions on the future Organic Law on Public Integrity.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the State Plan before the Cortes Generales on 9 July 2025; the Council of Ministers approved it on 26 August. Spain’s Ministry of Finance describes the plan as a roadmap for a more transparent public administration focused on integrity. The associated draft Organic Law on Public Integrity is intended to address the full anti-corruption cycle, from prevention and investigation through to sanctions and the recovery of misappropriated public funds.
Brussels is urging Spain to speed up reforms that reinforce mechanisms to prevent and control corruption while ensuring the oversight body’s independence. The Commission also says the supervisory authority needs effective, autonomous powers to detect and sanction wrongdoing.
The annual assessment comes a year after the Spanish government unveiled a 15-point anti-corruption package. The proposals included an independent Public Integrity Agency and stronger whistleblower protections. They also called for new tools to monitor public procurement, alongside tougher penalties. The plan was announced amid a wave of corruption scandals involving figures such as former minister José Luis Ábalos and former PSOE organisation secretary Santos Cerdán.
Subsequent steps have established a coordination structure, but they have not completed the legislative changes sought by the Commission. The Ministry of Finance says the draft Organic Law, approved by the government in first reading on 17 February 2026, contains 84 measures covering the prevention and detection of corruption, along with sanctions and the recovery of public resources allegedly misappropriated through corruption. On 24 February, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister María Jesús Montero presided over the establishment of the Interministerial Commission tasked with promoting the State Plan. Its formation creates a formal way for ministries to coordinate, while the proposed law remains a basic tool for putting the plan into effect.
The government’s integrity structure also includes ministry-level arrangements. The Finance Ministry identifies a departmental Integrity Committee that promotes and coordinates integrity policy while liaising with the Interministerial Committee on Institutional Integrity. It can also propose changes to the integrity system of the General State Administration. The structure combines administrative coordination with the proposed legislative structure, rather than relying solely on criminal enforcement.
The warning comes amid heightened political tension in Spain, following the conviction of the prime minister’s brother for prevarication and ongoing judicial proceedings against his wife, Begoña Gómez. The government continues to face fallout from the Koldo case and related investigations, while the Partido Popular faces repercussions from major corruption cases such as Kitchen, as well as other judicial challenges in regions under its control. The proceedings involving Gómez concern allegations and should not be treated as a final finding of criminal liability.
The Koldo-related investigations concern alleged corruption linked to public contracts for medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Senate investigative committee established in April 2024 broadened its remit to examine contracts and licences, as well as concessions, aid and other public operations connected with Operation Delorme and related inquiries. After the Cortes was dissolved on 6 October 2026, the committee’s work ended with the legislature without an approved final report. Its parliamentary process so reached no final determination of political responsibility connected to Ábalos.
Separately, a court filing reported in October 2026 said Spain’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office had not yet determined the origin or full amount of income Santos Cerdán received during the period under investigation. The inquiry involves material seized in investigations connected with the Koldo case and related alleged networks. This financial scrutiny is part of the judicial proceedings, separate from the government’s administrative reform programme.
Although the Commission’s report does not mention specific scandals, it repeatedly calls for stronger institutional safeguards against conflicts of interest and for greater transparency. It also urges Spain to guarantee the independence of oversight bodies. These anti-corruption recommendations form part of a broader evaluation of the country’s rule of law, which finds that most pending reforms have advanced but remain incomplete. Spain still needs to finalise reform of the system for appointing members of the General Council of the Judiciary in line with European standards. The Commission also calls for changes that reinforce the Attorney General’s independence by separating the mandate from the political cycle. It urges authorities to speed up investigations and proceedings in high-level corruption cases. Another outstanding measure is a law regulating lobbying activities through a mandatory register, which would be introduced for the first time.
The Commission also highlights ongoing tensions between the judiciary and political powers. Judges and legal professionals continue to express concern over politicians’ public criticism of judicial decisions. The Supreme Court, the General Council of the Judiciary, judicial associations and the Constitutional Court share that concern. The report also acknowledges that some judges have publicly criticised politicians, with several cases now under review by the CGPJ’s Disciplinary Commission. The Commission reminds all branches of government that criticism of judicial rulings is part of democratic debate, but the executive and legislative powers must avoid undermining judicial independence or public trust in the courts. It calls on state institutions to show mutual respect.
Spain’s position in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index reflects these challenges. With a score of 55 out of 100, one point lower than the previous year, Spain ranks 49th globally and 17th among EU member states. It ranks behind Portugal and Slovenia, but ahead of Italy and Poland. The Commission’s report says Spain shares similar recommendations with the Czech Republic and Malta; Italy and Austria face the same call to strengthen rules on conflicts of interest and asset declarations for senior officials. The Commission reserves its harshest criticism for Slovakia and Hungary. Bulgaria also faces criticism, with the report finding a sharp deterioration in the ability to detect and investigate high-level corruption, as well as to prosecute it.
The findings point to persistent gaps in Spain’s anti-corruption structure and the need for concrete legislative action. The Commission is calling for faster reforms and stronger oversight mechanisms as Spain seeks to improve its standing and address institutional weaknesses in the fight against corruption.
