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Strasbourg, 12 December 2014
Greco (2014) 15E Final
Group of States against Corruption (GRECO)
PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES 2015
Adopted by GRECO 66 (Strasbourg, 8-12 December 2014)
GRECO Secretariat
Council of Europe
www.coe.int/greco
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
 +33 3 88 41 20 00
Fax +33 3 88 41 39 55
Directorate General I
Human Rights and Rule of Law
Information Society and Action against
Crime Directorate
OBJECTIVE and ACTION
1.
The Group of States against corruption (GRECO) plays a leading role in the efforts of its
member States1 to counter corruption. Its primary objective is to strengthen the capacity of its
members to fight corruption by monitoring their compliance with Council of Europe anti-corruption
standards, advising on remedial action, assessing the action taken by each member in response to
the monitoring findings and recommendations, and actively pushing for reform.
2.
On the specific themes of each evaluation round2, GRECO provides each member State
with an expert appraisal and set of recommendations that are tailored to addressing shortcomings in
national anti-corruption policies, laws, regulations and institutional set-ups. Subsequent impact
assessments (“compliance procedures”) serve to verify achievements and to actively encourage
progress towards implementation of the recommendations. In that context, additional stages and
measures are applied in cases of non-compliance.
3.
The mutual evaluation methodology applied is rigorous. It is based on the work of
evaluation teams and compliance rapporteurs and implemented through peer review within the
Plenary.
4.
Evaluation and compliance reports are made public (www.coe.int/greco) thanks to the
commitment of its member States to ensuring overall transparency of the GRECO process and
facilitating, at domestic level, the implementation of recommendations by raising awareness of
GRECO’s findings among all relevant stakeholders of the State and in society.
5.
A high profile is maintained in external relations to secure further support – from national
and international fora, civil society and the media – for the implementation of the Council of
Europe’s anti-corruption standards and the results of GRECO’s evaluation and compliance process, to
mobilise possible synergies and discourage unnecessary duplication. In this connection cooperation
with the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic co-operation and Development (OECD) as
well as the relevant bodies of the European Union is given high priority.
1
49 members (all Council of Europe member States as well as Belarus and the United States of America):
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovak Republic,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Turkey, Ukraine, United
Kingdom and United States of America.
2
The current Fourth Evaluation Round is devoted to Corruption prevention in respect of members of
parliament, judges and prosecutors. The Third Evaluation Round covers two themes: Theme I – the
o
incriminations provided for in the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ETS n 173), its Additional Protocol
o
(ETS n 191) and Guiding Principle 2 (Resolution (97) 24) and Theme II – the transparency of party funding as
understood by reference to the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation on Common Rules against
Corruption in the Funding of Political Parties and Electoral Campaigns (Rec(2013)4).
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PROGRAMME
6.
The statutory deadlines within GRECO’s monitoring process define, to a large extent, the
number of reports to be scheduled for adoption during a given year. However, at the time of
establishing the work programme for the following year, it is not always possible to anticipate the
outcome of compliance procedures. These can lead to the launching of non-compliance procedures
when the performance of member States in implementing GRECO’s recommendations is categorised
as “globally unsatisfactory”. Such procedures require more frequent reporting by the countries
concerned and the addition of interim compliance reports to GRECO’s provisional work programme.
Moreover, in 2015, the Plenary may decide, in some cases, to carry out a “high-level mission” to a
member state with a view to further reinforcing the importance of complying with pending
recommendations, pursuant to Rule 32, paragraph 2 (iii) of the Rules of Procedure. GRECO therefore
acknowledges that some of its Compliance Reports may need to be prepared for adoption later than
the statutory deadline (interim reports in cases of non-compliance will be given priority).
7.
The provisional schedule for 2015 appears in Appendix I. Four Plenary Meetings (and the
same number of Bureau meetings) are planned. In order to make the best use of the budgetary
resources available to GRECO, the core evaluation and compliance work is scheduled to allow for an
even spread of on-site visits and of drafting work that has to be accomplished before reports are
tabled for adoption by the plenary. The calendar might be subject to adjustments in the course of
the year to reflect the state of progress in Evaluation and Compliance procedures, particularly noncompliance procedures (cf. above). It is imperative that GRECO maintains some degree of flexibility
in its planning for 2015 in order to properly respond to scheduling requirements that cannot be
anticipated at the time of adoption of the present programme.
8.
Even though evaluation procedures in 2015 will focus predominantly on the current Fourth
Evaluation Round, Third Round evaluations of the three most recent member States (Liechtenstein,
San Marino and Belarus) will also be conducted. Compliance procedures in both rounds will
continue across the year and GRECO will need to devote appropriate time to the setting up of its
Fifth Evaluation Round.
9.
Experts involved in relevant external anti-corruption initiatives will continue to be invited
to exchanges of views with the Plenary in 2015, time permitting. Moreover, GRECO and its
Secretariat will attempt to continue to respond favourably to the significant number of requests for
input it receives (written submissions – including comments and opinions, presentations and
participation in external meetings). Formal links are maintained with the United Nations
(represented by the UNODC), the OECD (Working Group on Bribery in International Business
Transactions), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the International Anti-Corruption
Academy (IACA) which have observer status with GRECO.
10.
Enhanced cooperation with the European Union is a stated aim. It is felt that membership
of the EU in GRECO would represent a unique opportunity to reinforce the coherence and hence, the
efficiency, of action against corruption in Europe. An item to be followed closely in 2015 will be the
follow-up given to the Impact Assessment regarding possible EU accession to GRECO – aimed at
clarifying the practical and legal implications of an evaluation of EU institutions by GRECO – that was
launched by the European Commission in 2013. In the meantime, GRECO has welcomed the
European Commission’s engagement in the fight against corruption and has stressed that the first EU
Anti-Corruption Report (published on 3 February 2014) recognises the important role played by the
Council of Europe’s anti-corruption standards in setting the reference for assessment while drawing
extensively on GRECO’s findings, and promotes implementation of GRECO recommendations.
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11.
With reference to the above-mentioned Impact Assessment, GRECO has noted with
satisfaction the measures taken by the European Commission to allow for full accession of the EU to
GRECO in the future as well as the later Conclusions adopted by the Council of the European Union
(5-6 June 2014) on the EU Anti-Corruption Report in which it “calls for the full accession of the EU to
GRECO as soon as possible and for the ensuing evaluation of the EU institutions under GRECO’s
evaluation mechanism while taking into account the different characteristics of the states and the EU
institutions, and ask the Commission to speed up preparatory work to that effect”. GRECO is ready
to pursue ad hoc cooperation the European Commission pending formal accession.
12.
GRECO welcomes the fact that fighting corruption and other forms of misuse of power
continues to represent a priority for the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in 2014-2015.
Within the Organisation, GRECO evaluation and compliance reports will continue to serve as a basis
for cooperation programmes. GRECO will follow and, as appropriate, contribute to other initiatives
of pertinence to its own mandate, notably those of the Parliamentary Assembly, the European
Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ) and
of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) on corruption in sport. Cooperation with the
competent bodies of the Council of Europe involved in the promotion of the Organisation’s gender
equality and mainstreaming policies will be ensured through its Gender Rapporteur.
13.
In addition to monitoring, in 2015, GRECO will carry out the annual statutory tasks of
adopting its Fifteenth General Activity Report (2014) and its Programme of Activities for 2016. The
budget for 2016 will be prepared within the Programme and Budget procedures of the Organisation
for the biennium 2016-2017, and formally adopted by GRECO’s Statutory Committee.
-°-°-°-°-°14.
A summary of GRECO’s activities in the preceding year (2014) is provided in Appendix II
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APPENDIX I: Provisional Calendar - 2015
January
Bureau 71
20 February
GRECO 67
Ljubljana
1. Eval IV Report Bulgaria; Hungary
nd
2. 2 RC-III Portugal; Cyprus; Republic of Moldova
3. RC-IV Estonia; Latvia; Finland;
Iceland
4. General Activity Report 2014
23-27 March
Eval IV visit Armenia
13-17 April
Eval IV visit Turkey
13-17 April
Bureau 72
May/June
Strasbourg/…
Eval IV visit Romania
18-22 May
Eval IV visit Bosnia and Herzegovina
1-5 June
Eval IV visit Portugal
29 June – 3 July
GRECO 68
1. Eval IV Report Greece; Montenegro; Serbia
2. RC-I/II Add Belarus
th
RC-I/II 5 Add Ukraine
nd
3. 2 RC-III Georgia
4. RC-III Interim Bosnia and Herzegovina; Greece;
Switzerland
5. RC-IV Netherlands; Luxembourg
15-19 June
July/August
Eval III visit Liechtenstein
21-25 September
Eval III visit San Marino
28 September – 2 October
Bureau 73
September/October
GRECO 69
Strasbourg/…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
12-16 October
Eval III visit Belarus
[26-30 October]
Eval IV visit Cyprus
2-6 November
Eval IV visit Republic of Moldova
2-6 November
Eval IV visit Czech Republic
23-27 November
Statutory Committee [November]
Bureau 74
Adoption Budget 2016-2017
November/December
GRECO 70
Eval IV Report Turkey; Armenia
RC-I/II Add Liechtenstein
nd
2 RC-III Andorra; Germany
nd
2 RC-III Add Hungary
RC-III Interim Malta; Denmark
RC-IV Sweden; Slovakia
Strasbourg/…
30 November – 4 December
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1. Eval IV Report Bosnia and Herzegovina; Romania;
Portugal
nd
2. 2 RC-III Ukraine; Belgium
nd
3. 2 RC-III Add Bulgaria; Azerbaijan;
nd
nd
2 RC-III 2 Add Spain
4. RC-IV France; “the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia”; Spain
5. Programme of Activities 2016
APPENDIX II
Summary of principal activities in the preceding year (2014)
Four plenary meetings were held in 2014.
GRECO adopted its Fourteenth General Activity Report (2013) which included a thematic article on the
“Gender Dimensions of Corruption”.
The Joint First and Second Round Compliance Reports on Belarus and San Marino, and an Addendum to the
th
Joint First and Second Round Compliance Reports on Ukraine (4 Addendum) were adopted.
Third Round Compliance Reports were adopted in respect of Austria, Italy, Monaco, the Russian Federation
and the United States of America. Second Third Round Compliance Reports were adopted in respect of
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, “the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia” and Turkey, and Addenda to Second Third Round Compliance Reports in respect of Latvia, the
Netherlands, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Spain. Moreover, GRECO adopted Interim Third Round
rd
nd
Compliance Reports on Belgium (3 interim report), Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic (2 interim
rd
nd
rd
nd
report), Denmark (3 interim report), France (2 interim report), Germany (3 interim report), Greece (2
th
interim report), Malta, Sweden (4 interim report), Switzerland and Turkey, following the application of Rule
32 of its Rules of Procedure.
The composition of Evaluation Teams was fixed and ten Fourth Round Visits were carried out (Azerbaijan,
Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Serbia). GRECO adopted ten
Fourth Round Evaluation Reports (Albania, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland,
Lithuania, Malta, Norway) and the first Fourth Round Compliance Reports were adopted in respect of Poland,
Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
The plenary held exchanges of views, during the March plenary meeting, with Mr Reinhard PRIEBE, Director
“Internal Security” and Ms Anabela GAGO, Head of Unit, DG Home Affairs, European Commission and during
the October meeting, with Drago KOS, Chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business
Transactions.
At the June plenary meeting, Mr Samuel JONES, Programme Officer, Institute for Democracy and Electoral
Assistance (International IDEA) presented to GRECO the International IDEA Handbook on Funding of political
parties and election campaigns and MM Mark PERERA and Carl DOLAN from Transparency International’s EU
Office presented the Transparency International EU integrity system report. At the December meeting,
MM Jens-Oscar NERGÅRD, representative of Norway in GRECO, Arne SANDNES and Jørgen TISTEL, IT portal for
political parties and public authorities, County Governor of Sogn og Fjordane (CGSF), Anders GRØNDAHL,
Administration of the party population and electronic forms for the reporting of financial matters (Statistics
Norway) and Oskar Petter JENSRUD, Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation presented the
experience of Norway with GRECO’s recommendations on political party funding.
A conference was organised jointly with the Ministry of Justice of Austria and the International Anti-Corruption
Academy (IACA), with additional financial support from the Government of Monaco, on Strengthening the
capacity of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors to prevent corruption in their own ranks: emerging
trends from two years of GRECO Round IV evaluations. The event was held under the auspices of the Austrian
Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, in Laxenburg (Austria) on 10-11 April 2014. GRECO also
contributed, in cooperation with the Action against Crime Department of the Council of Europe to the
preparation of a conference on “The fight against corruption: international standards and national
experiences”, organised by the Chairmanship of Azerbaijan of the Committee of Ministers, held in Baku on
30 June – 1 July 2014.
GRECO took note of the procedure for the preparation and approval of its budget within the programme and
budget of the Council of Europe for 2014-2015 and adopted its Programme of Activities for 2015.
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