The Government regulates lobbies and creates a mandatory state registry

The Official State Gazette number 209, of Wednesday, August 26, 2026, publishes in its section I (page 116780) the Royal Decree-Law 21/2026, of August 25, on transparency and integrity of interest group activities (official reference BOE-A-2026-18148). The regulation, approved by the Government, enters into force the day following its publication, that is, August 27, 2026.

The provision is part of the Action Plan for Democracy (September 2023) and the State Plan for the Fight against Corruption, adopted by the Council of Ministers in August 2025, which provides for the creation of an Independent Public Integrity Agency as the central body for the prevention, supervision, and prosecution of corruption. Its adoption also responds to milestone CID 432 of reform C11.R1 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, linked to the release of funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

A public and mandatory state registry

The royal decree-law creates the State-level Registry of Interest Groups, which is public and free of charge, managed by the Council for Transparency and Good Governance. The registry will enable citizens to know the identity of the groups and their representatives, their sources of funding, and the nature of their influence activity, and will include a list of persons who have held high-ranking positions or public employment in the last five years.

• Open, reusable data with universal accessibility.
• Interconnection with regional registries and the European Union Transparency Register.
• Interoperability with the Transparency Portal of the General State Administration, where the agendas of high-ranking officials and regulatory footprint reports will be published.

Rules of conduct and sanctioning regime

The text establishes rules of conduct to which interest groups are subject in their relations with high-ranking personnel, cabinet members, and public employees, raising the ethical standards of influence activity. Furthermore, it mandates the incorporation of a regulatory footprint report in a standardized format into every regulatory drafting process, reflecting the contributions of the groups and the documentation submitted during contacts and meetings.

The sanctioning regime defines the infractions and their corresponding penalties, attributing to the Transparency and Good Governance Council the competencies for the initiation, investigation, and resolution of the proceedings. The regulation is structured into five titles, twenty articles, three additional provisions, one repealing provision, and six final provisions, and it modifies Law 3/2015 regulating the exercise of high-ranking officials, the Statute of the Transparency and Good Governance Council (approved by Royal Decree 615/2024) and Royal Decree 611/2026 for the promotion of decarbonization.

An advance in public integrity

The regulation aligns with the standards of the European Union, the OECD, and the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe, and complies with the recommendations of the latter’s Fifth Evaluation Round. With this, Spain completes the transparency framework for influence activities on public policies, a relevant step for the prevention of conflicts of interest and the consolidation of a culture of openness and accountability in the relations between public authorities and society.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 209, August 26, 2026, Sec. I, page 116780 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18148).