The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) held its annual seminar with the Autonomous Regions (ARs) at its headquarters today, entitled ‘Reform of the national fiscal framework and evaluation of public spending’. The seminar brought together representatives of the ARs and AIReF, both in person and virtually, with the aim of sharing views and making progress in identifying common priorities.
The President of AIReF, Cristina Herrero, opened the seminar by stressing the importance of these spaces for joint dialogue and highlighting the relevance of the topics chosen for the Autonomous Regions. This year, the seminar focused on the national fiscal framework in a broad sense, from the need to make national regulations consistent with European regulations to the role of public policy evaluation as a tool for ensuring the sustainability and quality of public spending.
The President pointed out that the launch of the new European fiscal framework has been somewhat disappointing, given the lack of dialogue in the design of the Medium-Term Structural-Fiscal Plan (MTP) and the lack of guidance and information for ARs to adjust their budgets to this new framework. She also stressed the urgent and pressing need to reform the national fiscal framework to ensure its coherence and consistency with the European framework.
During the seminar, the Director of AIReF’s Budget Analysis Division, Ignacio Fernández-Huertas, and AIReF’s Deputy Director of Macroeconomic Forecasts, Leandro Navarro, gave speeches on the analysis, soundness, consistency and effectiveness of the national framework and the economic outlook in the current context of uncertainty.
In addition, two round tables were held. The first was attended by representatives from Andalusia, Cantabria and the Balearic Islands, who presented their views on the reform of the national fiscal framework. The second Hola round table discussed the role of public spending evaluation, with practical experiences from Extremadura and Aragon. The Director of AIReF’s Public Spending Evaluation Division, José María Casado, also participated in this round table.
