Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001554/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Fernando Navarrete Rojas (PPE), Dolors Montserrat (PPE)
On 18 February 2025, the Spanish Government adopted Royal Decree 100/2025, which unilaterally imposes on the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) the conditions for assessing the ‘closure clause’ of the pension reform negotiated with the Commission.
AIReF has complained that this Decree ‘undermines its supervisory capacity and its independence’, as it establishes biased methodological criteria. Against this background, it has been forced to publish a second independent opinion on the sustainability of public finances.
AIReF’s independence is protected by Regulation (EU) No 473/2013, which requires that fiscal institutions are structurally independent and do not take instructions from national budgetary authorities or from other public or private bodies.
Imposing biased assessment conditions violates this rule and constitutes an attack on AIReF’s independence.
We would therefore like to ask the Commission the following question:
What measures will the Commission take to curb the attack on AIReF’s independence under EU law?
Submitted: 16.4.2025