material and personnel coming from the specialized units. This has led, in 2009 alone, to 252 arrests through 54 investigations. All these successes would not be possible if the Public Prosecutor´s Office had not doubled its effective fight against corruption and organized crime and the police had not created a highly specialized unit such as the Unit against Economic and Financial Crimes (Unidad contra los Delitos Económicos y Financieros - UDEF). Stats of the Guardia Civil are similar, with an increase in the number of arrests since 2004 and an increasing focus on specializing in combatting corruption. Table 12: The most important anticorruption reforms or activities with a direct impact on the NIS from the past five years Código Iberoamericano de Buen Gobierno/ Iberoamerican Code of Good Government: this Code affects all the Iberian-American countries; it was a proposal of the Spanish Government for the Summit of Chief of Estates and Presidents of Montevideo, in 22 y 23 June of 2006. Código de Buen Gobierno de los miembros del Gobierno y de los altos cargos de la Administración General del Estado: in regard to the Code of Good Government, it is interesting to note that successive reports of international bodies such as the GRECO of 2001 stated Spain did not enjoy a code of conduct within its public administration. Even though legal norms existed, no codes of conduct were designed and implemented to orientate and help employees. Because of that, the government of Zapatero, following the electoral manifesto, and guidelines of the OECD on this matter, approved in February 2005 a Code of Good Government. Its objective is to offer “to the citizens the commitment that all the high-ranking officials in the exercise of their functions should comply not only with the obligations predicted in the laws, but, besides, its action should be inspired and to be guided by ethical principles of conduct that up to now have not been expressed explicitly in the norms. Ley 5/2006, de regulación de los conflictos de intereses de los miembros del Gobierno y de los Altos Cargos de la Administración General del Estado/ Law 5/2006, the Bill on Conflicts of Interest of the members of the government and of the high-ranking officials of the General Administration of the State: its objective is to establish the obligations that are incumbent in order to prevent situations that can originate conflicts of interest. Registro de Actividades de los altos cargos y la publicación en el Boletín Oficial del Estado de los bienes y derechos patrimoniales de los miembros del Gobierno y de los Secretarios de Estado/ Registry of Activities, Goods and Patrimony: an office is foreseen in the above mentioned Law on Conflicts of Interest. This is a body with functional autonomy, and comprising public officials, though under the Department of Public Administrations. Some of the office’s responsibilities are to demand to the high ranking officials the observance of the law and to report this to the government, to detect and prosecute violations of the law and to approve post-employment activities. The declaration of assets that Secretaries of State and Ministers will have to present in the Registry of Activities, Goods and Patrimony will be published in the Official Bulletin of the State. th A Statute for Public Employees and Civil Servants (Law 7/2007, April 12 ): which includes a code of conduct based on 12 ethical principles (art. 53) and 11 principles of behaviour (art. 54) for all workers in public administration. th La Ley 29/2005, de 29 de diciembre, de Publicidad y Comunicación Institucional / Law 29/2005, 29 of December on Institutional Publicity and Communication: established the normative framework in which institutional promotion campaigns have to be developed for the General Administration, as well as the other public institutions. Focus lies on the protection of equality between political candidates and parties during election campaigns. Royal Decree 947/2006 regulates the Commission for Institutional Publicity and Communication and elaborates an annual plan for the General Administration. With this regulation an attempt is made to avoid that institutional campaigns are used for electoral purposes. th Law 28/2006, July 18 , the Central Government Agencies Act 2006: based on a new model of public
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