The Joint Committee (Congress-Senate) for Relations with the Court of Auditors has called this Thursday to advance in the dissolution of foundations linked to political parties that have been inactive for years and, furthermore, has proposed that only those registered in the corresponding section of the Registry of Political Parties of the Ministry of the Interior may receive public subsidies.
The decision was made upon approving the resolutions proposed by PP and PSOE following the report by the Court of Auditors on contributions received by these foundations and the expenses of their programs and activities financed with public subsidies in the fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
In line with the recommendations of the auditing body chaired by Enriqueta Chicano, the two major parties, with the support of Sumar, have expressed their favor for the dissolution of inactive foundations, albeit with differences. The PP proposes the automatic liquidation of those that accumulate four consecutive fiscal years without activity, while the PSOE limits itself to requesting the dissolution of those that remain inactive "continuously" for several consecutive fiscal years and have no prospect of reactivation.
Among the approved resolutions, as reported by Europa Press, the PP also proposes that before the end of this year, foundations whose net worth is less than half of their share capital be dissolved.
Avoid purely patrimonial foundations
The committee has also supported the PSOE's proposal to dissolve foundations that do not orient their actions towards the fulfillment of their own objectives or are limited to the mere holding of assets, as well as the PP's proposal to urge these entities to develop economic activities "related to their corporate purpose and their foundational aim" as a way to prevent their main function from being the accumulation of assets, although without opposing their continued operation.
Regarding access to subsidies, the socialist initiative has moved forward to require ministries to include, as a participation requirement in calls for proposals, that foundations be registered in the corresponding section of the Registry of Political Parties. The PP's proposal, which is more detailed, has also been approved, proposing that the Ministry of the Interior oblige these entities to register if they wish to opt for public aid.
External audits and control of donations
The Joint Commission has given its approval to the PP's initiative that sets as a condition for receiving public funds the performance of an annual external audit. On the other hand, it has rejected the PSOE's proposal that sought to limit this obligation only to foundations with minimum income of 100,000 euros.
Likewise, the popular party's request to regulate minimum amounts from which these entities must communicate to the Court of Auditors, within three months of their acceptance, donations from legal entities, as well as the obligation to open specific bank accounts to channel said contributions, has been supported.
In the block of resolutions, the proposal that urges the Government to require a "patrimonial rebalancing" from foundations as a condition for accessing subsidies has been approved, with the support of the PP and the rejection of PSOE and Sumar. On the contrary, initiatives that sought to "cancel all types of subsidies" to foundations "that do not respect the unity of Spain" or aim to "destroy it" have been discarded.