Are the Spanish Parliaments transparent? Analysis of compliance with the anti-corruption standards of the Council of Europe, GRECO

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24137/raeic.12.23.11

Keywords:

transparency, parliaments, GRECO, good practices, communication

Abstract

Parliaments have promoted digital tools in recent years with the aim of developing their transparency and strengthening citizen involvement in democratic procedures (Rubio and Navarro-Núñez, 2018). In the context of citizen distrust towards politics (CIS, 2022), the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe has made several recommendations on the prevention of parliamentary corruption and in favor of the informative openness of legislative institutions. In order to analyze the level of parliamentary information transparency in Spain, a content analysis of the GRECO standards was carried out in the Spanish Parliament. Specifically, the information published by the 612 parliamentarians (349 deputies and of 263 senators deputies) on their pages within the websites of the Senate and the Congress of Deputies was analyzed, in accordance with the provisions of the GRECO Code of Conduct of the Cortes Generales, approved by both institutions in 2020. The conclusions show that the Spanish Chambers partially comply with this Code and that certain parliamentary groups have avoided providing data. Likewise, we highlight elements for the improvement of parliamentary transparency.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

  • Irene López-Alonso, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)

    Irene López Alonso is a PhD student in Journalism at the Complutense University of Madrid, where she also completed the Master's Degree in Advanced Studies in Political Communication, after having studied the Degree in Journalism at the University of Valladolid. She has held various representative positions at the University of Valladolid and the Complutense University of Madrid. She has work experience as a Communication and Marketing technician in the health sector, as a collaborator in the organization of electoral events Omnium Strategic Intelligence, as well as in La Opinión de Zamora, where she carried out her curricular internship.

  • María Díez-Garrido, Universidad de Valladolid (UVA)

    María Díez-Garrido is a Permanent Lecturer at the University of Valladolid, where she has one recognized research period and one teaching period. She earned her PhD in Communication with international mention and Summa Cum Laude in 2020, with a thesis awarded by the Political Communication Association (ACOP). She has participated in four competitive national research projects and one excellence network, all of them funded. 

    Her research focuses on political communication, transparency, social media, and disinformation. She has completed three research visits at prestigious institutions such as the University of Lisbon (Portugal), the University of Manchester (United Kingdom), and the Center for Political and Constitutional Studies (Madrid, Spain).
    In her teaching role, she has delivered over 600 hours of lectures in the Journalism Degree program at the University of Valladolid and supervised more than 20 Final Year Projects.

References

Bernardes, C. B., & Leston-Bandeira, C. (2016). Information vs Engagement in parliamentary websites - a case study of Brazil and the UK. Revista de Sociologia e Política, 24(59), 91–107. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-987316245905

Brandsma, G. J., & Meijer, A. (2020). Transparency and the efficiency of multi-actor decision-making processes: an empirical analysis of 244 decisions in the European Union. International Review of Administrative Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852320936750

Campos, P. B. (2021). Malos tiempos para los parlamentos. Cuadernos Constitucionales, (2), 31-45. https://doi.org/10.7203/cc.2.2217

Bustos Gisbert, R. (2017). Corrupción en España: reflexiones al hilo de los informes del GRECO. Cuadernos Manuel Giménez Abad, 13, 69–77.

Campos Domínguez, E. (2011) La ciberdemocracia en el Congreso de los Diputados (2004-2008). Madrid: Congreso de los Diputados. Colección monografías.

Campos Domínguez, E. (2014). Historia, concepto y evolución del Parlamento 2.0. En Rubio, R. (Ed.) Parlamentos abiertos. Tecnología y redes para la democracia (pp. 31-61). Madrid: Cuadernos del Congreso de los Diputados.

Castells, M. (2010). Comunicación y Poder. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

Chapman,Cucciniello, M., Porumbescu, G. A., & Grimmelikhuijsen, S. (2017). 25 Years of Transparency Research: Evidence and Future Directions. Public Administration Review, 77(1), 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12685

Cucciniello, M., Porumbescu, G. A., & Grimmelikhuijsen, S. (2017). 25 Years of Transparency Research: Evidence and Future Directions. Public Administration Review, 77(1), 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12685

Curto-Rodríguez, R. (2020). Transparencia operativa de las comunidades autónomas españolas mediante sus portales de datos abiertos. El Profesional de La Información, 29(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2020.ene.15

Díez-Garrido, M., & Campos-Domínguez, E. (2020). ¿Actitud o imagen? La organización y percepción de la transparencia de los partidos políticos. Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico, 26(4), 1411–1420. http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/esmp.68769

Díez Garrido, M., Campos Domínguez, E., & Calvo, D. (2021). La transparencia de los partidos políticos como estrategia electoral. Una evaluación de sus promesas y sus páginas web. Tripodos, 44, 83–104. https://doi.org/10.51698/tripodos.2019.44p83-104

Ferraz Esteves de Araujo, J. F., & Tejedor-Romero, F. (2016). Local government transparency index: determinants of municipalities’ rankings. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 29(4), 327-347. https://doi.org/10.1108/09574090910954864

García García, J., & Curto Rodríguez, R. (2019). El ejercicio de la rendición de cuentas mediante portales de datos abiertos en las comunidades autónomas españolas. IDP. Revista de internet, derecho y política, 29. https://portalinvestigacion.uniovi.es/documentos/5e9790ba2999523d597b7bde

Gimeno Feliu, J. M. (2017). Medidas de prevención de corrupción y refuerzo de la transparencia en la contratación pública. Revista de estudios de la Administración Local y Autonómica, (7), 45-67.

Hood, C. & Heald, D. A. (2006). Transparency: The key to better governance? Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.5871/bacad/9780197263839.001.0001.

Ihlen, Ø., Fladmoe, A., & Steen-Johnsen, K. (2023). Uncertainty Communication in a High-Trust Society: Source Type, Political Preference, and Trust. International Journal of Communication, 18, 29. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/21389

Koryzis, D., Dalas, A., Spiliotopoulos, D., & Fitsilis, F. (2021). Parltech: Transformation framework for the digital parliament. Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 5(1), 15.

Matheus, R., & Janssen, M. (2019). A Systematic Literature Study to Unravel Transparency Enabled by Open Government Data: The Window Theory. Public Performance and Management Review, 43(3), 503–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2019.1691025

Matheus, R., Janssen, M., & Janowski, T. (2020). Design principles for creating digital transparency in government. Government Information Quarterly, 38(1), 101550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2020.101550

Nieto Jiménez, J. C. (2020). La transparencia en las Cortes Generales a la luz de las recomendaciones del GRECO: el código de conducta de los Diputados. Revista Española de la Transparencia, 31-48. https://doi.org/10.51915/ret.88

Norris, P. (2000). Democratic divide? The impact of the Internet on parliaments worldwide. American Political Science Association Panel, 2, 195-240.

Olasina, G. (2014). E-parliament services as tools for anti-corruption and transparency. International Journal of Electronic Governance, 7(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEG.2014.065083

Open Government Partnership (2012). I Plan de Gobierno Abierto de España. https://transparencia.gob.es/transparencia/dam/jcr:a6be5c83-6ad5-4679-a3e1-58c8b3c6b239/I_Plan_Accion_Espana.pdf

Park, H., & Blenkinsopp, J. (2011). The roles of transparency and trust in the relationship between corruption and citizen satisfaction. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 77(2), 254–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852311399230

Garrido-Lora, M., Sánchez-Decicco, W.-N., & Rivas-de-Roca, R. (2022). Strategy and creativity in the use of political slogans: A study of the elections held in Spain in 2019. Communication & Society, 35(3), 155–171. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.35.3.155-171

Pérez Gálvez, J. F., & López Fernández, F. J. (2014). La credibilidad del sistema democrático español: partidos políticos y corrupción. Revista de Derecho Público y Diálogo Multidisciplinar, 80, 121–142.

Ramaswamy, M. (2016). Using Information And Communication Technologies To Improve Transparency In Transition Countries. European Scientific Journal, 12(11), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2016.v12n11p1

Rubio Núñez, R. (2014). Parlamentos abiertos. Tecnología y redes para la democracia. Madrid: Congreso de los Diputados.

Rubio Núñez, R. (2020). La tecnología en el Parlamento durante la crisis del COVID-19. Cuadernos Manuel Giménez Abad, (8), 226-236. https://produccioncientifica.ucm.es/documentos/5f69430f2999526eb121a927

Rubio Núñez, R. & Navarro-Rubio, R. V. (2017). Parlamento abierto: el parlamento en el siglo XXI. Editorial UOC.

Ruijer, E., Détienne, F., Baker, M., Groff, J., & Meijer, A. J. (2019). The Politics of Open Government Data: Understanding Organizational Responses to Pressure for More Transparency. American Review of Public Administration. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074019888065

Serra-Silva, S. (2022). How parliaments engage with citizens? Online public engagement: a comparative analysis of Parliamentary websites. The Journal of legislative studies, 28(4), 489-512. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2021.1896451

Villoria, M. (2021). ¿Qué condiciones favorecen una transparencia pública efectiva? Artículo de revisión. Revista de Estudios Políticos, (104), 213–247.

Downloads

Published

2025-04-07

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 23 (2025): Comunicación política y participación digital

Section

Thematic issue

How to Cite

Are the Spanish Parliaments transparent? Analysis of compliance with the anti-corruption standards of the Council of Europe, GRECO. (2025). Revista De La Asociación Española De Investigación De La Comunicación, 12(23), raeic122311. https://doi.org/10.24137/raeic.12.23.11