ACCESS TO THE PARLIAMENT PROGRAMME BROADCAST ON 11 MARCH 2023. ONLY IN SPANISH.
The president of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF), Cristina Herrero, gave an interview at “TVE Parlamento” in which she reviewed the main challenges for the sustainability of public finances and highlighted the need to take advantage of the year 2023 to reflect and plan for the imminent return of the fiscal rules. AIReF has been calling for a definition of a credible and realistic medium-term strategy in which all levels of government must be involved.
The interview coincides with the third anniversary of Cristina Herrero’s appointment as president of AIReF, following her unanimous vote in favour by all the political parties in Congress in March 2020. Cristina Herrero thus reaches the halfway of her term in office, during which uncertainty has dominated the economic outlook.
In the interview, Cristina Herrero explained AIReF’s functions, an essentially supervisory and evaluative organisation, that has become a key institution in the economic debate by providing data, analytical capacity, and pedagogy. In her opinion, AIReF is now a useful institution, not only for public administrations but also for citizens.
She also reviewed the main challenges facing the economy, including the return to a scenario of fiscal rules, suspended since the pandemic, and the ageing population expected in the medium and long term. She also pointed out the importance of AIReF being consulted at earlier stages of the budgetary cycle and she was in favour of increasing the number of appearances by the institution in the Spanish Parliament.