Conference | Fiscal transparency in times of misinformation: the role of Independent Fiscal Institutions

Admission is subject to prior registration and limited to the number of seats in the room.

Find all the information and the full programme on the event page.

The Portuguese Public Finance Council is holding a conference entitled ‘Fiscal transparency in times of misinformation: the role of Independent Fiscal Institutions (IFIs)’ on 24 February, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.

The event aims to highlight the importance of transparency in public finances in a context marked not only by the growing circulation of inaccurate information, but also by the complexity of issues related to public finances. The conference will emphasise the role of Independent Fiscal Institutions (IFIs) as central entities in promoting this transparency, demonstrating how their educational role, supported by rigorous and impartial technical analyses, can contribute to a more informed and serious fiscal debate.

The opening session will feature speeches by Nazaré da Costa Cabral, Chair of the CFP's Senior Board, and Filipa Urbano Calvão, President of the Court of Auditors, followed by a presentation by the keynote speaker, Xavier Debrun, Chief Economist at the Bank of France.

The first panel, ‘Between high public debt and spending pressures: the educational role of IFIs on the effects of political decisions’, brings together: Pieter Hasekamp, President of the European Fiscal Board; Scherie Nicol, Lead - Independent Fiscal Institutions at the OECD; and Lilia Cavallari, President of the Italian Parliamentary Budget Office. The session will be moderated by Carlos Marinheiro, Head of Staff at the CFP.

After a coffee break, the second panel will take place, dedicated to the theme ‘The Portuguese Public Finance Council and the transposition of the new European economic governance framework: what has been done and what remains to be done’. This debate will feature the participation of: Carlos Costa, former Governor of the Bank of Portugal; Óscar Afonso, Director of the Faculty of Economics of Porto; and Carlos Lobo, Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon and Founding Partner of Lobo Carmona e Associados. The debate will be moderated by economic journalist Pedro Santos Guerreiro.

The closing session will be led by Lorenzo Forni, Vice-President of the CFP's Senior Board, who will give a final assessment of the proceedings.

Date of last update: 09/02/2026