Mandatory accountability by Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles on the use of funds for reserve funds has been delayed. Despite the minister’s statement, dates for both appearances have not yet been set. … Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlasca appeared before Congress two weeks ago, on October 28th.
Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Robles, as in the case of Mr. Grande Marlasca, have remained reluctant to follow in their footsteps and continue to drag their feet, even though until October they had never requested to appear before the committee charged with administering the funds earmarked for the issue. The law requires these briefings to be given to Parliament every six months, and while no government has ever held briefings this frequently, ministers who were required to do so held briefings approximately once a year.
Mr. Alvarez’s request to appear before the secret committee to explain the reserved funds was dated October 24, and Mr. Grande-Marlasca’s request had already been subpoenaed. More than two weeks have passed since then, and at press time the committee had not yet convened, according to the parliament’s website. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not want to answer questions about when this accountability would occur. The choice of day is determined by the minister’s agenda.
The Defense Ministry also declined to say when the minister would provide an explanation. Robles’ summons was filed on October 30, almost a week after Alvarez’s, and two days had already passed since Grande-Marlasca’s summons. The Minister of Defense’s request was approved by the Parliamentary Board on Tuesday this week, and the Parliamentary Board has already given it the latitude to set an approximate date, as the Ministry has assured the ABC in recent weeks that the delay in requesting appearances was due to the exact date it was trying to set.
PP request
Mr. Robles’ failure to comply with his legal obligation to explain to Congress how the reserve funds will be used is twofold. The Ministry of Defense has a budget for covert operations and is also the political head of the National Intelligence Center, which also has a secret fund.
Mr. Álvarez and Mr. Robles were forced to appear in court when Mr. Grande-Marlasca took this step, because this newspaper reported on October 5 that none of the three ministers — the three who were required to do so — had ever asked Congress to explain how the reserve funds would be spent. The PP requested the appearance of the three on October 7, and the Home Secretary decided to register the summons on his own request the following day, October 8.
The law requires that an explanation be given to Congress every six months, but no one had requested it until October.
Jose Manuel Álvarez has never attended a secret committee since becoming foreign minister. Mr. Robles and Mr. Interior attended twice before 2022 for other reasons and, according to the government president, used these appearances to provide “data” on reserved funds, but there is no evidence that this was an issue to be discussed.
The laws governing the use of reserved funds were very clear, and until the passage of Pedro Sánchez’s Congress, all governments, without exception, were required to voluntarily go before Congress and comply with the obligation to explain how these funds would be spent. The law was approved by Felipe González’s last government in 1995 with the aim of restoring some of the public’s trust and preventing a repeat of corruption scandals such as those of Luis Roldán, Fileza and GAL. All of them shared in the criminal use of the budget provided as a reserve fund.
So far, the last time all ministers were held accountable with a budget for expenses reserved in accordance with the law was in 2017, when Mariano Rajoy was still in Moncloa.
About The Author
