Sánchez's 13 Measures to Prevent Corruption in the PSOE

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has proposed a set of 13 measures to the PSOE Federal Committee, which is being held this Saturday, aimed at "preventing, combating, and punishing" corruption within the party. These measures include random checks on the financial status of public officials, compliance reports on tax obligations, and dual signatures on decisions made by key positions.

These 13 measures are divided into three main blocks: the first aims to strengthen the balance of power within the party, avoiding the "excessive concentration" of power; the second set of measures aims to provide greater transparency to the organization; and the third includes rules to improve the party's governance and ensure "its complete integrity."

Regarding the rebalancing of power, Sánchez has proposed the requirement of "dual signatures" for secretaries of Organization and key positions, as an effort to promote "cross-checking mechanisms." He has also urged the regulation of maximum timeframes for resolving informational dossiers, to prevent situations like that of José Luis Ábalos, whose dossier remained unresolved for 15 months.

Regarding the second axis of action, the PSOE Secretary General has highlighted the need to amend Article 43 of the party's statutes so that the declarations of assets and activities of public officials are also submitted to regional ethics and guarantees commissions. Random checks will be included to ensure all updated financial information is provided when required.

Similarly, Sánchez has proposed updating the PSOE's transparency portal to include, by the end of the year, recommendations made by the Transparency and Good Governance Council and "of course" the Court of Auditors, to include "all economic and budgetary information of the organization," as well as subsidies, grants, and annual remunerations of all party officials.

Another measure proposed by Sánchez to enhance transparency includes strengthening the PSOE's Federal Ethics and Guarantees Commission to receive "copies of all documents sent through the complaint channel," and to issue reports "on any integrity matter," even acting ex officio.

The Prime Minister has also proposed including anonymity protection in the PSOE's complaint channel, providing "economic and psychological protection" for whistleblowers. This measure also aims to create an "explicit obligation" for all public and organizational officials to report irregularities.

Sánchez's proposal also includes strengthening the autonomy of the compliance system, making it directly accountable to the Federal Executive Committee, and increasing the number of members and resources it receives to commission, for example, audits, external analyses, or collaboration requests "discreetly."

One of the flagship measures, proposed by the PSC and included in the block to ensure integrity, is the creation of a tool that integrates the "currently dispersed" internal regulations and the creation of new control forms, such as requesting compliance reports on tax obligations.

Sánchez has sought the support of the Federal Committee for the 13 measures, which add to "those already adopted in the last seven years" of Government and will be reinforced with the legislative actions he will propose in his appearance before the General Courts on the 9th of this month in the Congress of Deputies.

"Evidently, I am aware that some of these reforms I have detailed may seem, in the eyes of the public, excessively technical, bureaucratic, for those who are not familiar with the structure or the functioning of our organization," he admitted.

Despite this, he has invited the membership and the public "to analyze them closely, in detail" and to compare them with the guarantees and transparency mechanisms of other political parties.

Overall, Sánchez has assured that with these measures, the PSOE "will position itself as the most advanced political formation in Spain in this area as well."