On 25 August 2026, the Spanish government recast the transparency and integrity rules for activities by interest groups through Real Decreto-ley 21/2026 . The text was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado on 26 August 2026. Its central feature is the state-run, public and free Registro de grupos de interés with mandatory registration for actors seeking to influence the development of public policy.
It covers the Administración General del Estado and the state’s public-sector entities. The register will be attached to the Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno Information to be registered includes identity and representatives, sources of funding, areas of activity and forms of influence, as well as people who have held public office in the past five years. In addition, the decree requires a standardised informe de huella normativa, documenting in a traceable way the contributions of registered actors and relevant contacts with personnel involved in decision-making. The text also provides for the register to be interoperable with existing autonomous-community registers and with the Portal de la Transparencia are published.
In a dedicated Title IV, the legislation establishes a sanctions regime: the Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno is given powers to initiate, conduct and decide proceedings for breaches of registration and publication obligations, as well as codes of conduct. The measure was justified in the Consejo de Ministros as necessary because, according to the executive, the ordinary legislative process had been blocked.
The government links the move to obligations under EU standards, recommendations from the OCDE and requirements set by GRECO, and places it within strategies such as the Plan de Acción por la Democracia and anti-corruption initiatives. Media reports highlighted differing assessments: according to RTVE, the greater legal clarity is welcomed, but recourse to the emergency procedure is criticised; El País cited the stalled parliamentary debate as the immediate reason.
Legally, it remains to be seen how Congress and the Senate handle the validation of the Real Decreto-ley and whether constitutional objections are raised. Practical factors will be decisive for its effectiveness: the prompt establishment of the Registro de grupos de interés, technical integration with autonomous systems, clear guidelines for the informe de huella normativa and consistent enforcement of the sanctions framework by the Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).