The Plenary of the Council of Transparency and Good Governance of the Principality of Asturias has given its approval this Friday, unanimously, to the draft budget for the fiscal year 2027, which amounts to a total of 450,000 euros.
However, the validated document still does not include the section related to personnel expenses, whose definition and calculation correspond to the General Directorate with competencies in public function.
As specified by the Council itself, this item will have to cover the remuneration of the Presidency and the positions listed in the job relationship, the costs associated with seniority and professional career, the other applicable remuneration concepts, and the linked Social Security contributions.
The draft aims to guarantee the ordinary functioning of the body during its first full year of activity. Of the total amount, 180,000 euros, equivalent to 40%, are reserved for current operating expenses and 245,000 euros, 54.4%, for investments related to the operational deployment of the Council; the remaining 25,000 euros are allocated to financial operations.
The Plenary has also granted the Presidency the ability to negotiate with the Ministry responsible for Finance the technical and economic adjustments that may be necessary during the processing of the accounts, with the obligation to inform the Plenary in the following session.
Legal reform and institutional strengthening
In the Plenary meeting, the members designated by the Consultative Council of the Principality of Asturias, the General Board of the Principality of Asturias, the Asturian Federation of Councils, the University of Oviedo, and the Audit Office participated.
The body has favorably and unanimously reported the proposal for a partial amendment of Law 8/2018, of September 14, on Transparency, Good Governance, and Interest Groups of the Principality of Asturias, and has agreed to send it to the parliamentary groups of the General Board of the Principality of Asturias.
The initiative does not imply a comprehensive review of the current regulation, but rather a limited adaptation to those provisions that require updating to complete the institutional and functional fit of the Council.
Among the main goals are the organization of the external information system and the protection of informants, the attribution to the Council of the functions of independent autonomous authority in this area, and a new distribution of competencies among its bodies: the Office of Good Governance and Fight against Corruption is responsible for instructing actions and sanctioning procedures, while the Presidency adopts decisions with effects against third parties, including the resolution of such procedures.
The proposal also reinforces the institutional position of the Council. It moves from its current affiliation to the department responsible for transparency to an institutional relationship channeled through the department that sets the structure of the Government, without implying hierarchical subordination, guardianship, or control of opportunity. The Council remains outside the instructions of any authority, body, or public or private entity.
Furthermore, the text completes the regulation of the Statute of the Council, its administrative organization, and the personal and material resources essential for its activity, and incorporates the necessary provisions for the transitional implementation of the external information channel.