Corruption continues to be rated by the Spanish public opinion as one of the country's main problems, and its effects are devastating for the regular functioning of public institutions, the legitimation of the political system, and the civic values that support it. The last two Eurobarometers of 2022, one aimed at businesses (Flash Eurobarometer 507) and another general (Special Eurobarometer 523) indicate that Spain is the sixth EU country with the highest perception of corruption, behind Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, and Portugal. 89% of the respondents state that corruption is high or very high; and almost 9 out of 10 Spanish companies think that corruption is widespread. This perception does not match the victimization data, which barely reaches 2% of the respondents, but demonstrates a state of opinion that needs to be analyzed and to which a response must be given with institutional and communicative improvements.

The commitment and participation of academia are of utmost importance to understand and fight the phenomenon of corruption. In this sense, we propose the continuation of a Network on Culture of Legality and Anti-Corruption (Red CLLC) that has accumulated seven years of experience and has taken on the responsibility of promoting deep reflection on the topic. Among its objectives, the CLLC networks have led proposals for democratic regeneration and overcoming institutional operational deficits, which includes multiple legal, political, and organizational dimensions, but also value-based, psychosocial, and of traditions, collective habits, etc. that are identified with the project and movement of the Culture of Legality. In turn, they have been projected onto objectives related to the consolidation of the rule of law, honest government, or good governance; to values such as integrity, responsibility, and transparency; to the projection of these values in the contexts of the increase in the use of artificial intelligence; the impacts of the presence of algorithms and nudges in the functioning of public administration; to tasks of promoting compliance and ethics in government functions and improving public management; or to deepening the historical and cultural reasons that explain the dysfunctions of legal and political institutions in this matter.

We believe that now, in the juncture of managing Next Generation funds and European requirements to control fraud and corruption, as well as in the full execution of the IV Open Government Plan, an ideal opportunity opens up to strengthen a Network that continues to consolidate synergies towards a mature horizon in the conceptualization, forecasting, prevention, and management of the fight against corruption in a general context of developing a culture of legality.