The director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency appears before the Basque Parliament in the processing of the Transparency Law of the Basque Country
València, 7 February 2024.- The director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares, has appeared online before the Basque Parliament’s Committee on Institutions, Public Governance and Security to make contributions in relation to the draft Transparency Law of the Basque Country.
The hearing, held at the request of the Basque Parliament, is part of the process of processing the aforementioned law that provides for the creation of the Basque Transparency Authority. An Authority that, beyond its functions and its profile as a guardian of transparency in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, stands out as the highest public authority that culminates in the so-called external channel for the reception of informants or whistleblowers, in compliance with Law 2/2023, of 20 February, regulating the protection of people who report regulatory infringements and the fight against corruption.
The contributions made by the director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares, have dealt with the need to guarantee the independence of the Authority that is planned to be created and for this they have proposed the law for the creation of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency as a model.
Law 11/2016, of 28 November, of the Generalitat Valenciana, establishes that the Agency for the Prevention and Fight against Fraud and Corruption of the Valencian Community is attached to Les Corts. It is configured as an entity, with its own legal personality and full capacity to act for the fulfillment of its purposes. Therefore, a dependency of the legislative body is established, in contrast to the proposal of the Basque bill that establishes that the dependence of the Basque Transparency Authority will be on the executive body.
In the same vein, the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has proposed the formula of a majority of 3/5 of the Autonomous Parliament for the election of the management of the aforementioned Authority, as established by Valencian legislation, as opposed to the direct election by the Basque Government, which proposes the Basque Transparency Bill.
For his part, Joan Llinares, stressed after his appearance “we are grateful to the Basque Parliament for inviting us to make contributions to a bill that is so relevant for the promotion of integrity and public ethics in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. It is also an endorsement of the work carried out by the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency since its creation after the approval of Law 11/2016”.