This international organization has valued the reforms undertaken by our country both in the judicial and fiscal and parliamentary fields and has decided to remove it from its mechanism of periodic supervision, in which it remained since 2016.
The progress reflected in the second interim compliance report of that body is very significant and they consider "complied with" or "partially complied with" 10 of the 11 recommendations of the Fourth Evaluation Round. In July 2016, this agency appreciated that Spain had not implemented any of its requirements, so it described its level of compliance as "globally unsatisfactory" forcing the Government to send periodic reports on the progress made. In December 2017, Greco approved the first interim report in which it did not appreciate any changes.
The reforms of the LOPJ (Organic Law of the Judiciary) promoted by the Ministry of Justice and approved in Parliament last December are those that have caused much of the progress that the anti-corruption group of the Council of Europe now appreciates in the judiciary and the prosecution. His report gives "satisfactorily fulfilled" two recommendations. First, the creation of a code of conduct for judges that is easily accessible to citizens and that is complemented by advisory services regarding conflicts of interest and other aspects related to the integrity of judges and magistrates. The extension of the expiration of disciplinary procedures in the General Council of the Judiciary has also been fulfilled (CGPJ), that have gone from six months to a year.
Two other measures that were previously considered unfulfilled now become "partially complied with." The first is the establishment of objective evaluation criteria for the highest appointments in the Judiciary, such as those of the Provincial Courts, Superior Courts of Justice, National Court and Supreme Court. Greco values the reform of the LOPJ that obliges to publicly summon those places, the merits that are going to be taken into account for their coverage and the detailed weighting of each one of them. The legal modification also establishes a quorum of three fifths of the plenary of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) for its selection.
It also underlines the partial fulfillment of its recommendation on the method of selection and the mandate of the State Attorney General; the establishment of transparent procedures of communication of the Government with the latter and the search for greater autonomy in the management of the means of the Public Ministry. Greco also highlights the reforms undertaken to strengthen internal democracy and transparency in the operation of the CGPJ, although he regrets that the designation system of its members is not modified.
At the parliamentary level, this body also considers "partially fulfilled" four of its recommendations. First, the one concerning the approval in Congress and the Senate of a code of conduct for deputies and senators. The congress approved yours on February 28, while the Senate is already working on its elaboration. The anti-corruption group of the Council of Europe also values partial compliance with regard to the regulation of the relationship of parliamentarians with pressure groups as well as with respect to the increase in the level of detail of the declarations of property and income of deputies and senators.