04/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - Corruption is still « widespread” in Turkey. That is the conclusion of a report submitted last week by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), a Council of Europe body. The GRECO has formulated some twenty proposals to improve the situation. These include better cooperation between law enforcement authorities, greater judicial independence, reform of the administrative investigation system in order to avoid political influence, and a reduction in the number of public employees able to claim immunity. It also recommended creating a post of ombudsman and putting in place ethical guidelines. The report notes, however, that there has been progress, particularly ahead of the EU accession procedure. The GRECO report is available at: http: //http://www.coe.int/greco (bc)