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What it is

Rules for how Spain manages the debt other countries owe it

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 2 April 2004. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario Catalán (Convergència i Unió).

Official title: Private member's bill regulating the management of external debt.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000019· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The law sets the principles and instruments for managing the external debt Spain holds as a creditor, and requires that this management be linked to development cooperation policy and show solidarity with poor countries.
  2. The external debt covered by the law comes from bilateral credits granted through the Fund for Development Aid (FAD) and from sovereign debt originating in export credit insurance issued by CESCE, plus any other foreign credit mechanism.
  3. Spanish debt management policy follows principles such as respect for contractual obligations, development cooperation, internal and multilateral coordination, conditionality, and transparency with parliamentary oversight and civil society participation.
  4. The main instruments are restructurings and deferrals, debt forgiveness, contributions to debt reduction funds, debt conversions for human development, early recovery, securitization or debt sale operations, and other mechanisms to prevent over-indebtedness.
  5. Debt conversion must target investments and projects that promote development in the beneficiary country, with participation of local actors and of civil society in Spain and the receiving country.
  6. The Government must report each year to the Congress of Deputies on external debt management lines and provide detailed data: debtor countries, amounts paid and outstanding, agreements signed at the Paris Club, among others.

Who it affects

  • Developing countries indebted to Spain: They can benefit from debt restructurings, forgiveness or conversions, with commitments on poverty reduction, human rights and good governance.
  • The Government and its Ministries: They must coordinate among Economy and Finance, Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Industry, Tourism and Trade, and report regularly to Congress.
  • The Congress of Deputies: It receives detailed annual information on Spanish external debt and can request data and expert testimony.
  • Civil society: It participates through the Cooperation Council and in decision-making structures for debt conversion operations.

Words worth knowing

Acreedora (creditor)
A country or entity that is owed money by others.
Condonación de deuda (debt forgiveness)
Full or partial cancellation of the money a country owes.
Condicionalidad (conditionality)
Requiring the beneficiary country to adopt certain policies or commitments in exchange for debt measures.
Conversión de deuda (debt conversion)
An operation where debt is exchanged for investments or development projects in the debtor country.
Sobreendeudamiento (over-indebtedness)
A situation where a country owes more money than it can pay.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced2 April 2004Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted20 April 2004The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments18 March 2005Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee27 April 2005A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenary30 May 2006All 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate22 June 2006The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE23 November 2006It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 15 official steps on a timeline
Jun 2004Sept 2004Dec 2004Mar 2005Jun 2005Sept 2005Dec 2005Mar 2006Jun 2006Sept 200611. 2 April 2004: Presentación22. 20 April 2004: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 20/04/2004 hasta 23/04/200433. 20 April 2004: Calificación44. 23 April 2004: Gobierno Contestación desde 23/04/2004 hasta 01/06/200455. 1 June 2004: Pleno Toma en consideración desde 01/06/2004 hasta 08/03/200566. 8 March 2005: Mesa del Congreso Acuerdo subsiguiente a la toma en consideración desde 08/03/2005 hasta 15/03/200577. 15 March 2005: Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores Publicación desde 15/03/2005 hasta 18/03/200588. 18 March 2005: Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores Enmiendas desde 18/03/2005 hasta 27/04/200599. 27 April 2005: Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores Informe desde 27/04/2005 hasta 05/04/20061010. 5 April 2006: Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 05/04/2006 hasta 25/04/20061111. 25 April 2006: Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores Dictamen desde 25/04/2006 hasta 30/05/20061212. 30 May 2006: Pleno Aprobación desde 30/05/2006 hasta 22/06/20061313. 22 June 2006: Senado desde 22/06/2006 hasta 18/10/20061414. 18 October 2006: Pleno Enmiendas o veto del Senado desde 18/10/2006 hasta 23/11/20061515. 23 November 2006: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 23/11/2006 hasta 09/01/2007

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

The same initiative in the other chamber:

Published in the BOE: Law 38/2006, of December 7, regulating the management of external debt

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

Read the full method · Report an error