Procurement Risk:

High

Score:

44/100

Government Policy

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Q57 25/100

Does the country have legislation covering defence and security procurement with clauses specific to corruption risks, and are any items exempt from these laws?

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Legal framework Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. Law 24/2011, of 1 August, regulates contracts in the public domain in the areas…
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Corruption risks Score: 0 / 100
Neither Law 24/2011 (the main legal framework) [1] nor the Royal Decrees 1011/2013 [2], 945/2001 [3], 1120/1977 [4], or Order DEF/2021/2011 [5] include a…
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Effectiveness Score: 50 / 100
A significant number of cases of corruption in defence purchases have been reported by the media in the last decade. Whilst there is no…
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Q58 75/100

Is the defence procurement cycle process, from assessment of needs, through contract implementation and sign-off, all the way to asset disposal, disclosed to the public?

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Formal procedures Score: 100 / 100
There are formal procedures for defence procurement. These include Ministerial Order 60/2015 [1], which, when updated, made it more flexible and streamlined the previous…
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Transparency Score: 50 / 100
Defence planning capabilities were adopted in Spain through Ministerial Order 37/2005, but the three planning cycles carried out between 2005 and 2016 were not…
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Implementation Score: 75 / 100
There are policies and procedures for each step of the implementation process of the procurement cycle. In particular, they are included in Instruction 67/2011,…
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Q59 50/100

Are defence procurement oversight mechanisms in place and are these oversight mechanisms active and transparent?

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Independence Score: 50 / 100
The internal control of the economic and financial management of the state public sector is carried out in Spain through the General Intervention of…
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Effectiveness Score: 50 / 100
As stated by the secretary of state for defence, “’there is a lack of awareness [in the Ministry] about the need to manage in…
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Transparency Score: 50 / 100
The Independent Office for Contracting Regulation and Supervision was created by Law 9/2017 in late 2017, and only the 2018 report has been published…
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Q60 50/100

Are potential defence purchases made public?

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Policies Score: 75 / 100
The Spanish White Paper on Defense dates back to the year 2000, and the Strategic Review of the Defence (SRD) is from 2003 [1].…
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Notice of planned purchases Score: 25 / 100
The Annual Plan of Contracts of the Ministry of Defence (PACDEF) is required by Law 19/2013 to have “transparency, access to public information and…
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Q61 50/100

Are actual defence purchases made public?

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Comprehensiveness Score: 50 / 100
Defence purchases/contracts of the Ministry of Defence are publicised in accordance with Law 9/2017 through the Public Sector Contracting Platform [1]. However, Article 5.1…
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Accessible data Score: 50 / 100
Defence purchases/contracts of the Ministry of Defence are publicised in accordance with Law 9/2017 through the Public Sector Contracting Platform [1]. The platform openly…
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Capability Gap and Requirements Definition

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Q62 25/100

What procedures and standards are companies required to have – such as compliance programmes and business conduct programmes – in order to be able to bid for work for the Ministry of Defence or armed forces?

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Formal policies Score: 25 / 100
Article 12 of Law 24/2011 prohibits contracts with people who have been formally convicted of crimes of terrorism (or activities linked to terrorism), those…
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Consistent implementation Score: 25 / 100
No cases have been found of an important defence company excluded, privileged, or discriminated in bidding as per the existence of anticorruption programmes or…
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Q63 33/100

Are procurement requirements derived from a national defence and security strategy, and are procurement decisions well-audited? Are defence purchases based on clearly identified and quantified requirements?

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Procurement requirements Score: 25 / 100
Both the current National Directive for Defence [1] and the National Security Strategy in place [2] refer to threats and challenges, but they do…
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Scrutiny Score: 25 / 100
The vast majority of the economic volume of arms procurement in Spain is related to the Special Armament Programmes (PEAs). Only six PEAs (out…
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Purchases Score: 50 / 100
Whilst qualifying purchases as opportunistic in nature may be excessive, it is unclear to what extent Spain’s major purchases (the Special Armament Programmes) relate…
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Tender Solicitation, Assessment and Contract Award

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Q64 25/100

Is defence procurement generally conducted as open competition or is there a significant element of single-sourcing (that is, without competition)?

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Open competition Score: 25 / 100
“Public spending on weapons and weapons systems takes place in a non-competitive environment” [1]. The Annual Contracting Plan of the Ministry of Defence (PACDEF)…
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Scrutiny of single/restricted competition procedures Score: 25 / 100
Oversight agencies have powers to question single/sole/restricted competition procedures selected or purchases, and occasionally do so, but not actively or on a continuous basis.…
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Q65 50/100

Are tender boards subject to regulations and codes of conduct and are their decisions subject to independent audit to ensure due process and fairness?

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Conflicts of interest Score: 25 / 100
Order DEF/2021/2011 regulates centralised contracting and sets the composition and powers of the Contracting Boards of the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Staff, and…
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Audit Trail Score: 50 / 100
Section 3 of Chapter 2 of Law 24/2011 (Articles 31-37) regulates and details the process of adjudication of contracts [1], but there is no…
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Transparency Score: 100 / 100
Tender board regulations are fully transparent, as stated in Law 24/2011, of Contracts in the Public Sector in the Areas of Defence and Security…
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Scrutiny Score: 25 / 100
No “external” or independent verification (from the contracting body) in advance of contract award is mentioned in Law 24/2011, of contracts in the public…
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Q66 58/100

Does the country have legislation in place to discourage and punish collusion between bidders for defence and security contracts?

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Legal framework Score: 100 / 100
The sanction of the distortion of competition in public tenders in Spain is not only limited to the administrative field of competition but may…
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Sanctions Score: 75 / 100
Article 12 of Law 24/2011 prohibits contracts with people who have been formally convicted of different crimes or formally sanctioned as a consequence of…
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Enforcement Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked as ‘Not Applicable’ as no concrete cases of collusion investigated or prosecuted were found.The Additional Provision 23 of Royal Legislative…
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Training Score: 0 / 100
When asked about the type of specific training that procurement officers receive to identify cases of collusion and to report potential malpractices, the answer…
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Contract Delivery and In-Service Support

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Q67 50/100

Are there mechanisms and procedures that ensure that contractors meet their obligations on reporting and delivery?

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Reporting policies & procedures Score: 75 / 100
Ministerial Order 43/2019, approves the specifications of particular administrative clauses, and model-type that must govern the contracting of works, supplies, and services through the…
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Transparency Score: 25 / 100
Many contracts (and their potential modifications) are not publicly available, including contracts negotiated without publicity and others whose information is kept confidential. As statedpreviously,…
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Monitoring Score: 50 / 100
As stated by the Ministry of Defence, “the Ministry of Defence does not carry out periodic reports on the monitoring and termination of contracts,…
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Enforcement Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough information to score this indicator. Information regarding breaches of contracts is not publicly available. There is only anecdotical evidence of…
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Q68 83/100

Are there mechanisms in place to allow companies to complain about perceived malpractice in procurement, and are companies protected from discrimination when they use these mechanisms?

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Complaints mechanisms Score: 100 / 100
Chapters IV and V of Law 9/2017, on Public Contracts, are dedicated to appeal mechanisms, validity and revision of decisions on contracts, and settlement…
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Effectiveness and Accessibility Score: 100 / 100
Complaint mechanisms available to companies are said to be efficient and reasonably priced [1] and have been used. There is a mechanism of appeal…
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Retaliation Score: 50 / 100
A general perception exists that complaining companies may suffer from retaliation that may jeopardise their options for future procurement contracts. According to an interview…
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Q69 50/100

What sanctions are used to punish the corrupt activities of a supplier?

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Sanctions Score: 50 / 100
Article 12 of Law 24/2011 prohibits contracts with people who have been formally convicted of different crimes or formally sanctioned as a consequence of…
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Undue influence Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough information to score this indicator. Legal expert Ricardo Agud Spillard states that “there is no awareness in the arms sector…
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Application of sanctions Score: 50 / 100
The number of cases about corruption that are publicly known is small. However, their high relevance and the wider implications of the cases known…
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Offset Contracts

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Q70 50/100

When negotiating offset contracts, does the government specifically address corruption risk by imposing anti-corruption due diligence on contractors and third parties?

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Legal framework Score: 50 / 100
Offset contracts are expressly prohibited in the legislation of the European Union, as the European Commission views them as restrictive measures that violate the…
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Due diligence Score: 50 / 100
The only evidence of a mandatory imposition of anticorruption measures on contracts is Instruction 23/2020 of the Secretary of Defence, on the Ethical Code…
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Q71 50/100

How does the government monitor offset contracts?

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Policies & procedures Score: 100 / 100
The acquisitions process in the defence and security framework in Spain is regulated by Defence Instruction 72/2012 (standardising the procurement of armament and defence…
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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
Procurement contracts are available on the Public Sector Procurement Platform website [1], where general information of both tenders and adjudications are available. However, they…
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Monitoring Score: 50 / 100
Section 9 of Instruction 67/2011 expressly deals with “Direction, follow-up and control of the programmes”. Section 9 regulates the production of follow-up reports every…
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Enforcement Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough information to score this indicator. Industrial Cooperation Agreements establish economic penalties for non-compliance: “failure to comply with the commitment at…
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Q72 NEI/100

What level of competition are offset contracts subject to?

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Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough information to score this indicator. A study by the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) [1] revealed…
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Agents / Brokers

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Q73 0/100

How strongly does the government control the company’s use of agents and intermediaries in the procurement cycle?

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Policies Score: 0 / 100
Defex was a public company (51% of shares were owned by the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI) while the remaining 49% was in…
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Enforcement Score: NA / 100
There are no known restrictions or specific public policies on the use of agents and intermediaries in the procurement cycle in the defence sector,…
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Financing Package

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Q74 25/100

Are the principal aspects of the financing package surrounding major arms deals, (such as payment timelines, interest rates, commercial loans or export credit agreements) made publicly available prior to the signing of contracts?

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Score: 25 / 100
Article 35 of Law 24/2009 on Contracts in the Public Sector in the Areas of Defence and Security states that “the award of contracts…
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Seller Influence

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Q75 NS/100

How common is it for defence acquisition decisions to be based on political influence by selling nations?

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Prevalence: selling nations Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Arms Transfer Database for 2015-19…
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Justification Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. The situation of imports, outlined in 75A, from a small number of countries has…
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Prevalence: domestic pressures Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. Felix Artega, of the Royal Institute Elcano, stated that “decisions on major weapons programmes…
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