The Balearic Islands have Rolled Back Anti-Corruption Safeguards with Closure of Oversight Agency
On 19 April 2024, the Balearic Islands became the first Spanish autonomous community to dismantle its anti-corruption agency, following the entry into force of a regional law promoted by the Popular Party (PP) and supported by Vox. The anti-corruption agency is a key authority in the implementation of the national and EU whistleblower protection framework. The law formalised the closure of the Oversight Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption, triggering concern among transparency advocates and opposition parties.
Key Highlights:
- First case of institutional dissolution in Spain: the Balearic Islands became the first autonomous community in Spain to legally dissolve an anti-corruption agency through a legislative act. Until then, all autonomous communities with such bodies had maintained their mandates, even amid political turnover.
- Political drivers and motivation: The People´s Party (PP), with parliamentary support from Vox, argued that the office duplicated functions already assigned to other institutions and was politically biased. This was met with widespread criticism from the opposition and civil society organizations, who accused the government of attacking independent oversight in order to limit scrutiny over political elites.
- Legal proceeding: The law was introduced as a parliamentary bill (proposición de ley) by the People´s Party (PP) group, rather than as a government-sponsored bill (proyecto de ley). As a result, it bypassed the usual pre-legislative procedures, including a prior study or report on the office´s activities and contributions, public consultation procedures, and reports from advisory bodies.
- Creation of a new transparency register: The law replaced the anti-corruption agency with a transparency and asset control register under the direct supervision of the regional parliament. Unlike the former agency, the new body has no investigative powers, cannot sanction misconduct, does not accept anonymous complaints, and restricts access to asset declarations, which are no longer public and may only be accessed by the parliament, the judiciary and audit institutions.
- Impact on ongoing investigations: All agency open files were referred to the General Inspectorate of Services of the Balearic Islands, which reports to the regional government
Background & Context:
- Creation of the Office (2016): The Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption of the Balearic Islands was created under Law 16/2016 by a progressive regional coalition government (Socialist Party, Podemos and Més per Mallorca). It was designed as an independent authority to investigate allegations of corruption and ethical misconduct, manage and monitor public officials´ asset declarations, and sanction breaches of transparency and integrity obligations.
- Political shift (2023): In the May 2023 regional elections, the conservative Popular Party (PP) formed a government with parliamentary support from Vox. Among their early legislative priorities was the dismantling of the anti-corruption office.
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