Andorra Government Backs PS Transparency Reform but Questions Sanctions and Asset Disclosure

The Andorran government has issued a favourable opinion on a Social Democratic Party (PS) proposal to tighten the country's transparency and public information access law, while signalling reservations about some of its provisions and calling for a broader review of how the current rules work.

The Council of Ministers approved a positive criterion on the text, allowing the legislative proposal to advance to the General Council. As with any private member's bill, the executive was required to issue an opinion before the next stage of the process.

Government spokesman Guillem Casal said it was positive to keep reinforcing accountability and public trust in institutions, but stressed that the reform should be used as an opportunity to assess how the legislation has been applied since it came into force in 2021 and to determine whether further changes are needed. "We must make progress on transparency, but doing so in an orderly and legally secure manner," he said.

Casal said the government issues "an overall, generic assessment" rather than amendments, and that this view will have to be taken into account during parliamentary committee work.

One area the executive believes needs clarification is the introduction of a sanctioning regime for breaches of transparency obligations. Casal said the proposal is viewed favourably, but warned that it will be necessary to define which conduct should be punishable and how each case should be handled. He described the 2021 law as "young" legislation, arguing that its overall functioning should be analysed before deciding the scope of any changes.

On making the asset declarations of political officeholders public, the government maintained its reservations. Casal noted that public officials are already required to submit a declaration of assets, which is deposited with a notary and can be consulted in the context of a judicial investigation, for example into possible illicit enrichment. He recalled that the government had already opposed making these declarations accessible to the public at large during the passage of the original law, citing the risk of queries driven by "insufficiently legitimate interests."

The PS filed the amendment after finding that 46% of the transparency indicators analysed are not fully met. According to data from the 2025 report of the Transparency and Public Information Access Unit cited by the Social Democrats, 38% of indicators show partial compliance and 8% register total non-compliance. PS parliamentary group president Susanna Vela called for a shift "from formal transparency to effective transparency," while councillor Laia Moliné demanded legal consequences for failures by public administrations.

Among the changes proposed in the bill are fines of up to €24,000 for public officials who fail to comply, and clear rules governing opinion groups and lobbyists. The government's favourable criterion opens the door to the bill being taken up by the full chamber, a step that now appears likely to succeed.