In their annual report published on Thursday, the experts of the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body (GRECO) call on governments to be extremely vigilant in managing the money injected into the economy to mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic.
“Adequate legislation and institutional frameworks to combat corruption are not enough. We must see these standards applied effectively in practice, and governments must act with transparency and accountability”, commented Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić.
In its report, GRECO particularly points to the risks associated with public procurement systems, which are all the more exposed to conflicts of interest and lobbying as governments have had to introduce emergency measures over the past year that have led to a concentration of powers and derogations from fundamental rights.
GRECO President Marin Mrčela therefore calls on Member States “to closely follow” the Guidelines issued by the expert group in 2020 on managing corruption risks in times of pandemic.
Link to the guidelines: https://bit.ly/3to6Cux
Link to the report: https://bit.ly/3e3z9iB (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)