19 June, 2019
MISSION The purpose of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF, as it is known in Spanish) is to oversee the sustainability of public finances as a means for ensuring economic growth and the wellbeing of Spanish society in the medium and long-term. AIReF is a young public institution that started functioning on 2014. However, in just a few years it has built a solid reputation based on objectivity, independence and transparency with regard to its analysis and studies. Its mission is to guarantee effective compliance by Public Administrations of the budget stability principle set forth in article 135 of the Spanish Constitution through ongoing monitoring of the budget cycle and public debt.
AIReF’s professional and highly experienced team working on its staff endeavours to achieve the objectives established for the institution by publishing regular Reports, Opinions and Studies within the scope of its responsibility.
AIReF’s remit impacts key elements of all Public Administrations. As a result it directly affects decisions regarding public accounts and key expenditure and investment items such as education, healthcare and public works. Communication is therefore an essential part of AIReF’s activities. Independent Fiscal Institutions (IFIs) already exist or are being created in many countries around us for the purpose of having an independent authority to guarantee the sustainability of public finances. VALUES The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility, AIReF, was created as an institution with a duty to fulfil its mission on the basis of 3 key principles: independence, transparency and accountability. Independence AIReF operates with complete organisational and functional independence in order to carry out its purpose. Such independence is a prerequisite for success in its remit. Neither the President nor the members of its governing bodies or anyone else on the staff of AIReF may request or take instructions from any public or private entity. Transparency AIReF sees transparency as a commitment to provide citizens with all the relevant information on its reports, opinions and studies as well as on the fundamentals thereof in an open, clear and timely manner. The institution will make public the methodology and criteria underpinning its reports, opinions and studies in collaboration with the various Public Administrations and international organisations. Accountability Accountability is the third key element in AIReF’s activities. In addition to the President reporting at least once a year to Parliament, attendance at other parliamentary hearings is also provided for as part of a communication policy that reinforces this accountability in an open and continuous manner. AIReF shall be subject to regular external evaluation not only of its institutional reports but also of its own governance and organic structure and even its mandate. Its accounts shall also be subject to review by the Government Comptroller’s Office (IGAE, as it is known by its Spanish acronym) and the Spanish Court of Auditors.
