Fifth Round of GRECO Evaluation: Important recommendations and chance to fulfil them this time
Transparency Serbia assesses that the fifth round of the GRECO evaluation contains several significant recommendations, the fulfilment of which could fundamentally improve the legal framework for the fight against corruption. At the same time, the new parliamentary convocation and the new Government of Serbia will have the opportunity to approach the execution of these international obligations much more seriously than their predecessors. Serbia has not yet fully fulfilled the recommendations from the previous round of evaluation, although the first deadline expired in 2016. This time, GRECO dealt with mechanisms for preventing corruption at the top executive power and the police.
According to Transparency's view, the recommendations that could have the most significant effect refer to: regulating conflicts of interest among advisers to the President, prime minister and ministers and strengthening the system for controlling the reports of executive power officials; regulation of informal lobbying; enabling citizens to file a complaint with the Commissioner when the Government of Serbia or the President of the Republic refuse or ignore the request for access to information; obligation to hold public hearings on all laws; limiting the immunity of members of the Government in the case of corrupt crimes, expanding the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office for organised crime and strengthening the Government's Council for the fight against corruption.
For almost two decades, Transparency Serbia has been pointing to the need to legislate a possible conflict of interest among advisers holders of the highest public positions because of the possibility of actually influencing the making of important decisions. Counsellors are not public officials but people who often perform other jobs, so they cannot be subject to the same prohibitions and restrictions as officials. On the other hand, it is necessary to introduce rules based on which they would be obliged to disclose whether they have any private interest in the issue on which they are providing advice and to ensure compliance with those obligations. In addition, it is necessary to ensure the transparency of information about who all the advisers of public officials are and what is the legal basis of their engagement, in connection with which there were many doubts and no answers from the Government. A recommendation was also given to the Agency to regularly check reports on the assets and income of executive power officials.
Although the Law on Lobbying was adopted on the recommendation of GRECO, which was positively evaluated at the time, it is essential that the same institution has now shown its willingness to point out the two most significant shortcomings of that law, which TS pointed out. Namely, GRECO has now recognised as a problem that this law regulates only lobbying that takes place according to formal rules and not through informal contacts of lobbyists with the President, prime minister, ministers and their advisors. Another big problem that GRECO points to is that there is no obligation for officials and state authorities to publish who of the formal and informal lobbyists have approached them.
It is crucial that GRECO recognised the necessity for the right to access information about the work of the Government and the President of the Republic to receive effective legal protection. The Law on Free Access to Information was amended at the end of last year. One of the key demands of the Coalition for Freedom of Access to Information was that citizens could file a complaint with the Commissioner when any authority rejects such a request. However, the legislator kept the system according to which appeals against six bodies (Government, Parliament, President, Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Public Prosecutor of the Republic) are not allowed, and added the National Bank of Serbia to that list. In the absence of the possibility of appeal to the Commissioner, citizens, journalists and associations can only initiate lawsuits before the Administrative Court, the resolution of which has been waiting for years.
It is essential that GRECO pointed out the problem of non-compliance with the rules on holding public hearings in the preparation of the law, referring to the Transparency study on the weaknesses of the legislative procedure. GRECO additionally recommended that the reasons and impacts of changes in the law that occur after the end of the public hearing be explained.
It is very important that GRECO directly called on the Government to strengthen the Council for the fight against corruption by electing proposed members and acting on the reports of this body.
In terms of repression, the recommendation to expand the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office for an organised crime for possible corruption of all high-ranking officials, including the President of the Republic, who is currently omitted, is of great importance. In its reports, GRECO cites cases of suspected corruption of members of the Government that were not investigated and calls for the possibility of expressly abolishing the immunity of Government members from criminal prosecution for corruption offences.
In addition, GRECO made a number of other potentially valuable recommendations, including checking the integrity of candidates for ministerial positions before their election, rules for monitoring conflicts of interest among cabinet chiefs, adopting special plans and codes to prevent corruption at the top of the executive branch, strengthening the system internal audits in ministries and the competence of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and providing advice to officials on issues of integrity.
A particular part of the report is dedicated to measures to prevent corruption in the police. In this section, the most important recommendations refer to the prevention of political influence in the deployment of police officers and a more transparent selection of police leaders. It is also foreseen to adopt planning documents, expand the Code of Police Ethics, organise training and provide advice regarding its implementation, security checks on integrity issues, rotation of police officers in sensitive positions, recording of additional work, monitoring of the practice of receiving gifts in the police, making investigation of complaints on the police sufficiently transparent and to promoting the protection of whistleblowers.
News
Directors of SOE outside the reach of anti-corruption regulations
The directors of the largest state-owned companies (SOE), which manage assets worth tens of billions of euros, will not have the obligations, restrictions or control provided for public officials in the Law on Prevention of Corruption if the deputies adopt the proposed Law on the Management of Companies Owned by…
... detaljnije ...One of the laws crumbling the public procurement system repealed
The repeal of the law on line infrastructure[1], which opened up a huge space for discretionary decision-making and had the potential for corruption, is good news after years of crumbling public procurement systems. However, it is essential to emphasize that by deleting this law, only one of the channels for…
... detaljnije ...Change the selection method for independent bodies' managers
The legal rules leave too much room for political parties to influence the election of heads of independent bodies, Transparency Serbia emphasises. Although the majority of MPs decide the election - which is inevitable - the parties also have the sole or decisive say in the candidacy phase. At today's session…
... detaljnije ...Harmful and unexplained amendments to the Statute of ”JP Elektroprivreda Srbije”
Amendments to the articles of founding act and the Statute of ”JP Elektroprivreda Srbije” will have very harmful consequences on the implementation of anti-corruption laws in the largest Serbian public company, Transparency Serbia warns. In addition, the key reasons for changes are not explained and the legal basis is disputed. The…
... detaljnije ...Prosecutor's Office should increase the transparency of its work and investigate all abuses in EPS
The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office (HPPO) in Belgrade, in response to a request for access to information sent by Transparency Serbia, confirmed[1] that there is no evidence that prosecutor Bojana Savović requested a transfer from the Special Department for the Fight against Corruption. At the same time, HPPO did not submit…
... detaljnije ...On what bases will the deputies elect the director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption
Transparency Serbia sent the Parliament of Serbia an initiative to invite candidates for the director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption to the session The law does not provide for the obligation to represent candidates on parliamentary committees or at the plenum. Deputies were provided only job resumes of…
... detaljnije ...Amendments to improve judicial laws
Transparency Serbia calls on the National Assembly to reduce the corruption risks in the set of judicial laws by adopting the amendments submitted by the parliamentarians on the proposal of the TS. Transparency Serbia has submitted proposals for specific amendments to all parliamentary groups in the Assembly, which aim to improve…
... detaljnije ...Presentation of CPI 2022: Serbia fell below the hundredth place on the TI Corruption Perceptions Index world list
Serbia, with the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of 36 fell by five places on the list - to the 101st position in the most significant global ranking of countries according to the perception of corruption in the public sector – CPI 2022. In the previous two years, Serbia had a CPI…
... detaljnije ...The appointment of the Agency's director is delayed; on what basis will MPs decide?
The programs of the three candidates for the director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, among whom the National Assembly will choose, do not provide clear answers to all essential questions about the future work of this body. The procedure envisaged by the law does not imply the…
... detaljnije ...Government should be obliged to solve problems in the field of the fight against corruption and access to information
Transparency Serbia calls upon the Committee for Justice, State Administration and Local Self-Government to determine conclusions at today's session (Monday, 26.12.2022, from 2:30 p.m.) that would oblige the Government of Serbia to solve the problems pointed out in the annual reports of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and…
... detaljnije ...
The Coalition expresses its concern about the growing non-transparency of institutions
On the occasion of marking the International Day of Access to Information and the Day of the Public's Right to Know, 28 September, the Coalition for Freedom of Access to Information of Public Importance states that the authorities in Serbia are increasingly non-transparent in their work. The right to access information…
... detaljnije ...A decade of violations of the Law on Public Enterprises
The Law on Public Enterprises (PE), adopted precisely ten years ago, did not bring the promised professionalisation of management but became a symbol of open mockery of the rule of Law. Out of 34 companies owned by the Republic of Serbia, obliged by the Law to elect directors in a competition…
... detaljnije ...Fight against transparency and competition instead of the fight against corruption
The International Anti-Corruption Day, December 9, found Serbia in stagnation or regression in almost all areas of importance for the fight against corruption, while among the work priorities of the new Government, there is no mention of anti-corruption plans. One could even say that the fight against transparency and competition, the…
... detaljnije ...The budget shows the consequences of the disastrous EPS management
Serbia's budget for 2023 is insufficiently transparent in the part that refers to the costs incurred due to the poor performance of public companies, primarily the Electric Power Company of Serbia (EPS), and citizens are still without the opportunity to influence priority investments. In its assessment of the budget proposal, the…
... detaljnije ...Law on ministries – explanation without explanation
With this year's amendments to the Law on Ministries, the bad tradition was not betrayed: the organisation of the executive power in Serbia is changed without an explanation of how it will affect the performance of the state administration. Understandably, this encourages speculation that the real reason for those changes…
... detaljnije ...The Government illegally appointed acting officials, and the court has not been resolving the lawsuit for declaration of nullity
More than three-quarters of the decisions of the Government of Serbia in 2020 on the appointment of acting officials in the state administration were illegal. In 30% of cases, the Government violated not only the Law on Civil Servants provisions but also the laws of physics, determining that officials would…
... detaljnije ...ODIHR Final Report on the elections in Serbia - Serious problems related to the abuse of public resources and campaign…
Transparency Serbia indicates that the ODIHR Observation Mission, in its Final Report on the April elections, confirmed the TS findings and warnings during the last procedure of amending the electoral legislation and monitoring the election campaign. The final report, published only in English on the ODIHR website, contains comprehensive findings…
... detaljnije ...Illogical and flawed reports on election campaign expenses
More than two billion dinars were spent for the presidential and parliamentary elections campaign, of and only 6.5% came from contributions and donations. Transparency Serbia analyses individual financial submitted reports and noticed numerous illogicalities and deficiencies. More than one billion dinars, i.e. approximately half of the total costs of the campaign…
... detaljnije ...Decision on "national frequencies" without evaluation of mandatory criteria
The decision of the REM Council on the allocation of "national frequencies"[1] is disputed due to the non-application of one of the mandatory legal criteria - "respect for regulations and ethical media standards", but also because of how the Law on Electronic Media and the REM Rulebook govern the decision-making…
... detaljnije ...How will the budget money be distributed for the regular work of the parties, and what do the reports on…
The announcement of the results of the parliamentary elections, three months after they were completed in the vast majority of polling stations, will significantly change the parties' financial position. In the first half of 2022, about 691 million dinars from the Serbian budget were already distributed to parties based on…
... detaljnije ...
Financing of the campaign for the presidential elections
First Analysis Reports Official reports on the financing of the campaign for the presidential elections confirm the findings of the apparent dominance of the candidates of the ruling party in relation to all others, which are a consequence of the legal rules on the distribution of funds from the budget for campaign…
... detaljnije ...Fifth Round of GRECO Evaluation: Important recommendations and chance to fulfil them this time
Transparency Serbia assesses that the fifth round of the GRECO evaluation contains several significant recommendations, the fulfilment of which could fundamentally improve the legal framework for the fight against corruption. At the same time, the new parliamentary convocation and the new Government of Serbia will have the opportunity to approach…
... detaljnije ...Unjustified delay in the preparation of the law
Transparency Serbia pointed out today that the ministries have not organized a public debate on any draft law since February. However, there are already significant delays in fulfilling obligations from strategic documents, including the Action Plan for Chapter 23 and the Media Strategy. The "technical government" can therefore only be seen…
... detaljnije ...Budget transparency in Serbia at the level of the global average
Serbia has made moderate progress and is in 59th place out of 120 countries in the international Open Budget Index (OBI) survey with 46 points out of a possible 100, which ranks it among countries with "limited budget transparency". An improvement of six points compared to the previous survey (from 2019)…
... detaljnije ...LTI 2022: Novi Pazar, Sombor and Sokobanja – Transparency Leaders
The most transparent local governments in 2022 are Novi Pazar, Sombor and Sokobanja, according to this year's survey of the Local Transparency Index (LTI 2022), which Transparency Serbia presented at today's press conference. The average transparency index of cities and municipalities in Serbia in 2022 is 49 points - one point…
... detaljnije ...Six years of delay in meeting GRECO recommendations
Transparency Serbia points out that official reactions from Serbia to the new GRECO report are inadequate concerning its content. Although GRECO stated in its report published on March 30, 2022,[1] that a more significant number of recommendations were met when compared to the recommendations from the previous one, it is…
... detaljnije ...Citizens pay 15.7 million euros for the election campaign
Citizens' money for elections The 2022 united presidential and parliamentary elections hit a record for the amount of money the Serbian citizens paid to get convinced by the parties to vote for their lists and candidates. This year, the total budget allocations, which most parties led together for both types of…
... detaljnije ...Distinct media domination of the ruling party and candidates through a functionary campaign and paid advertising
Citizens who are interested in the amount and sources of the party spending on the election campaign have been denied this information this year. Despite the newly introduced obligation to submit preliminary reports less than 12 hours before the "election silence", these reports have not yet been published for nine…
... detaljnije ...Insufficient transparency of election campaign financing
Very little data on the election campaign financing is available to the citizens in the elections 2022, as in the previous ones. The legal changes have brought almost no progress in that regard, Transparency Serbia's research shows. The subject of this research is voluntary transparency, that is, what the political entities…
... detaljnije ...Election 2022 Monitoring - TS presented the first findings
Intensive public officials' campaign, higher participation of state officials in party activities than in previous election cycles and media domination of Aleksandar Vučić and his election list through a combination of public officials' campaign, statements and guest appearances on TV and advertising are the main characteristics of the first four…
... detaljnije ...
- 1
- 2
- 3