The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) held its fifth annual Workshop with General Government (GG), focusing on the national fiscal framework and, in particular, on the mechanisms for coordination and oversight among administrations. More than 150 representatives from the different tiers of GG, as well as from universities and leading fiscal institutions, took part in the session both in person and online.
AIReF’s President, Cristina Herrero, opened the Workshop by emphasising how this forum has consolidated itself as a trusted space for exchanging views on the sustainability of public finances and on the developments that have shaped them during her six years as President – a period marked by the prominent role of fiscal policy in a rapidly changing environment.
At the opening of the Workshop, Cristina Herrero reviewed the conclusions of AIReF’s Opinion on the reform of the national fiscal framework, published earlier this week. In that Opinion, the institution sets out the need for a thorough review of the national fiscal framework. AIReF argues that adapting the Spanish framework to the EU framework should not be confined to technical adjustments. Rather, it should be treated as an opportunity for a far-reaching reform that builds a transparent, operational fiscal system aligned with the features of a highly decentralised state.
A year on from the submission of the Medium-Term Fiscal-Structural Plan (MTP) to Brussels, she highlighted several of the proposals included in the Opinion aimed at strengthening fiscal planning and ensuring greater coherence across administrations. These include introducing medium-term plans for all sub-sectors and establishing a transparent procedure for setting targets. The President also called for AIReF’s own regulatory framework to be updated, noting that the institution will need to assume new responsibilities in assessing the soundness, coherence and effectiveness of the national fiscal framework, as well as consolidating evaluation as a permanent function.
After her opening remarks, the Secretary-General for Regional and Local Financing at the Ministry of Finance, Inés Olóndriz, gave a presentation on how coordination of the national fiscal framework is currently organised. This was followed by a presentation from the Director of the Budget Analysis Division, Ignacio Fernández-Huertas, who set out in more detail the findings of AIReF’s Opinion on the reform of the national fiscal framework.
Two round tables were held. The first focused on the coordination mechanisms of the current fiscal framework and was moderated by Esther Gordo, Director of the Economic Analysis Division at AIReF. Participants included Violeta Ruiz Almendral, Associate Professor at the Carlos III University of Madrid; Isidro Hernández, Director-General for Budgets at the Regional Ministry of Finance, Public Administration and Digital Transformation of Castile-La Mancha; and Carlos Prieto, Head of Local Corporations and Financing at the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.
The second round table examined the supervision mechanisms of the fiscal framework and was moderated by Ana Santiuste, Deputy Director of Autonomous Regions and Local Governments at AIReF. Participants included Carmen López, Partner at Afi; Eusebio Monzó, Regional Secretary for Finance and Financing at the Regional Ministry of Finance, Economy and Public Administration of the Valencian Community; and Beatriz Vigo, Comptroller-General of the Madrid City Council.
With this year’s edition, AIReF’s Workshop with General Government consolidate a process begun in 2021, which has enabled the main fiscal challenges of recent years to be examined on a regular basis and from a range of perspectives. Over the editions held since then, the forum has covered topics from the presentation of the institution’s work in the inaugural event to debates on the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), the reform of the European fiscal framework and its application in Spain. These meetings have become a stable forum for technical exchange between AIReF and General Government.
