SPAIN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Gabriel Rodríguez-Ramos, RODRIGUEZ RAMOS ABOGADOS
The trends and foreseeable activities related to anti- corruption in Spain in 2026 can be outlined based on the recent actions taken by the Spanish legislative, executive and judicial branches (anticipating actions they may undertake over the coming months), while also focusing on the challenges that the private sector will face in this area in 2026. Legislative The current legislative branch was elected in the general elections held on 23 July 2023. According to the Spanish constitutional framework, the govern - ment (executive branch) is approved by the deputies of the lower chamber ( Congreso de los Diputados ). The current government was voted in and elected (16 November 2023) with the support of Catalonian inde - pendence parties, which have been under investiga - tion since 2017 by various judges (from investigative judges in Catalonia to the Supreme Court), as well as the support of Basque independence parties (his - torically associated with organisations that politically supported the terrorist group ETA). The instability of the government (supporting par - ties in November 2023 explicitly expressed the end of the support to the government) makes it difficult to foresee the next legislative movements affecting anti-corruption policies in the short and middle term. In the long term, the following is foreseen. • The European legislation pending transposition and implementation is as follows. (a) Implementation of the Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 on European Production Orders and European Preserva - tion Orders for electronic evidence in criminal proceedings and for the execution of custodial sentences following criminal proceedings (will enter into force on 18 August 2026). (b) Transposition of the Directive (EU) 2023/1544 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 laying down harmonised rules on the designation of designated establish - ments and the appointment of legal representa - tives for the purpose of gathering electronic evidence in criminal proceedings (to be trans - posed before 1 February 2026).
(c) Directive (EU) 2024/1203 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on the protection of the environment through criminal law and replacing Directives 2008/99/ EC and 2009/123/EC (to be transposed before 21 May 2026). (d) Directive (EU) 2024/1226 of the European Par - liament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures and amending Directive (EU) 2018/1673 (to be transposed before 20 May 2026). • On 12 May 2022, Spain signed the Second Addi - tional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime on enhanced co-operation and disclosure of electronic evidence (CETS No 224) of the Council of Europe, which is pending the approval of the United Nations Cybercrime Convention, and the EU–US e-evidence agreement to facilitate access to electronic evidence in criminal investigations, which is being negotiated between the US Depart - ment of Justice and the European Commission. The Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO – Groupe d’Etats contre la corruption ) of the Council of Europe, adopted its last published report referring to Spain at its 100th Plenary Meeting on 3–6 June 2025 covering corruption prevention in respect of pre - venting corruption and promoting integrity in central governments (top executive functions, PTEF) and law enforcement agencies (LEA). GRECO concludes that Spain has not implemented satisfactorily or dealt with in a satisfactory manner any of the 19 recommenda - tions contained in the Fifth Round Evaluation Report. The recommendations adopted at its 97th Plenary Meeting on 17–21 June 2024 related to corruption prevention in respect of members of parliament, including the introduction of rules on how members of parliament engage with lobbyists and other third parties who seek to influence the legislative process. There is still no national legislation approved. In 2022 (previous legislative term) the government proposed a Law on Transparency and Integrity in the Activities of Interest Groups, which has not yet been approved. The parliaments of different regions of Spain have passed specific laws for their territories.
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