Nearly 90% of Balearic Islands city councils fail in transparency, according to the UAB.
The university points out that nine years after the regulations were approved, the level of compliance by the councils is very low.
Palm88% of the Balearic Islands' municipalities fail to comply with the Transparency Law, which requires administrations (state, regional, and municipal) to publish all information of interest to citizens on their websites. The remaining 24% receive a score below 1 out of 10.
Thus, only 8 of the 67 municipalities comply with the law's transparency requirements, according to the results of the transparency assessment of the websites of the 67 municipalities on the islands and the four island councils carried out by the project. Infoparticipa, from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Santa Eulària des Riu and Inca, meanwhile, received an excellent rating and the entity's seal of recognition. Overall, the corporate websites of the Balearic municipalities again failed the transparency rating, mostly, according to the analysis conducted in July by the Catalan university.
In December 2015, the Transparency Law came into force, requiring central, regional, and local governments to publish information of interest to citizens on their websites. Almost nine years later, the level of compliance with the regulations in the Balearic Islands is very low, according to this analysis. Regarding the approved municipalities, four are in Menorca; two in Ibiza; and two in Mallorca. Regarding the councils, all passed except Formentera, with a 1.2. The councils of Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza all receive the same rating, 5.1 out of 10 for transparency.
The municipalities with a passing grade in 2025 are Santa Eulària des Riu, Inca, Calvià, Ciutadella, Maó, Sant Lluís, El Castillo, and Sant Antoni de Portmany. Only two municipalities in the Balearic Islands achieve an excellent grade: Santa Eulària (9.6) and Inca (9), and both receive the 'Seal of Recognition'. To obtain it, municipalities must meet between 75 and 95% of indicators, depending on the number of inhabitants of the municipality.
The majority of municipalities (44 out of 67) obtain very low grades, not exceeding 25% compliance, and 15 are between 25 and 49%. San Antonio obtains a 6.5 out of 10; Ciudadela, 5.9; Ladrillo, 5.6; es Castell, 5.4; San Luis, 5.2; and Calvià, 5. The lowest scores were for Fornalutx (0.3), Ariany, Vilafranca de Bonany, and Maria de la Salut (0.4 in all three cases); Escorca, Muro, and Montuïri (0.6); and Campanet (0.7). The municipalities of Consell, Llubí, and Mancor del Valle (0.8) and Lloret de Vistalegre, es Migjorn Gran, and Puigpunyent (0.9) also did not reach a 1.
The UAB model assesses the presence of information, its completeness, intelligibility, ease of location, and up-to-dateness. Some data must also be anonymized if it affects individuals in compliance with the Organic Law on Data Protection (LOPD). In the Balearic Islands, there is a general deterioration, mainly due to the lack of updated information.
The analysis model, designed by the Journalism and Communication Laboratory for Plural Citizenship at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (LPCCP, UAB), currently established as the ComSET (Sound, Strategic Communication and Transparency) research group, integrates 52 indicators.
These indicators assess two types of validation criteria: the availability of up-to-date management information and its correct location and ease of location. The methodology takes into account two major variables: "Corporate Transparency" and "Information for Participation," according to the project's lead researcher, Dr. Marta Corcoy. Finally, the study indicates that municipalities that fail to comply with the law "are clearly susceptible to receiving a financial penalty or suspension from public office."
