AIReF External Review: Building on Strengths for the Future of Fiscal Monitoring

The commission helped by supporting a comprehensive external evaluation of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) under the current President's term. This assessment, the second in AIReF's 10-year history, aimed to measure the institution's progress since the previous external review in 2017 and evaluate its alignment with the Strategic Plan outlined by President Cristina Herrero for 2020-2026.

Context

As countries are now preparing for the reinstatement of EU fiscal rules in 2024 under a reformed framework, Independent Fiscal Institutions will require a monitoring and management framework that accounts for uncertainty as countries meet upcoming fiscal challenges.

AIReF’s resources, analytical capabilities and communication strategies have expanded since the previous evaluation. These improvements allowed it to solidify its role in Spain’s fiscal framework. 

However, since AIReF operates within a complex national context of significant decentralization and regional fiscal disparities, continuous adaptation to policies and economic conditions seems inevitable. 

Support Delivered

Throughout this project a Technical Team was assembled to provide an external and independent analysis of AIReF across several of its domains: functions (monitoring, public expenditure evaluation), guiding principles and impact. To accomplish the in-depth analysis, the Technical Teams performed vis-à-vis examinations between AIReF and its international congeners, interviewed multiple stakeholders who interact with AIReF and went through the latest legal and institutional framework. The Team, in respect of its independence premise, was mandated and funded by the EU to further provide actionable recommendations for AIReF. 

Result achieved

The Project provided AIReF a comprehensive report encompassing its current status, comparison with other Independent Fiscal Institutions, an overlook of its change since the last review, and a list of recommendations possible of implementation at the eyes of reaching its maximum potential in the areas analyzed. 

These recommendations were intended to reflect an optimization of AIReF in the grounds of current and future legal and fiscal challenges and to aggregate insights from the interviews with AIReF’s bodies and offices and external stakeholders. 

More about the project

You can read the documents related to the project here: