The 2nd Integrity Forum of the National Transparency Authority (NTA) concluded today 9TH December (International Anti-Corruption Day) with great success, with a central message:
"Integrity, Accountability and Transparency in Senior Government and Local Government Officials"
"Integrity and Transparency: a Duty, not an Option".
The purpose of the Integrity Forum was to highlight the institutional role of the National Transparency Authority (NTA) and the actions it undertakes to raise awareness and inform all public and private sector entities, as well as citizens on issues of transparency, integrity and accountability, as well as to establish it as an annual meeting point for conducting a meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders highlighting issues related to transparency and anti-corruption.
The event was attended by Secretaries General, representatives of the European Commission, representatives of Municipalities, Regions, NGOs, Independent Authorities, as well as public and private sector executives.
The speakers' presentations, divided into three thematic sections, focused on:
- The exercise of lobbying activities. In September 2021, the law regulating for the first time the area of lobbying was passed in Parliament. Prior to its adoption, lobbying activities remained unregulated in our country, a fact that had been repeatedly highlighted by international and European organizations in the context of evaluations of the country.
- In the presentation of the results of the Public Opinion Survey conducted by the National Transparency Authority in September 2022 on citizens' attitudes and perceptions towards corruption
- The Conflict of Interest, the implementation of the newly created institution of the Integrity Advisor in Local Government - in the Municipalities and Regions of the country - and the new data formed by the adoption and implementation of the Code of Conduct of Authorities.
The Interim Governor of the National Transparency Authority and Head of the Inspections and Audits Unit, Ms. Alexandra Rogkakou, declared the opening of the Forum's proceedings, noting "Today, World Anti-Corruption Day, we have the opportunity, through the organization of the Annual Integrity Forum, to highlight that the issues of fighting corruption and strengthening transparency and public accountability are a priority for us at the National Transparency Authority". She went on to stress that: "The title we have chosen for this year's Forum is anything but coincidental... 'Integrity, Accountability and Transparency in Senior Government and Local Government Officials - Integrity and Transparency: a Duty, not an Option'.
For us in the NTA, integrity is not a potential option, it is not a matter left to the discretion of Senior Government Officials, Local Government and citizens whether or not to operate in terms of transparency and integrity. Integrity, Transparency and Accountability are the basic pillars of any democratic and conducive state, which decides and acts with the progress and well-being of its citizens in mind. On the contrary, corruption, a long-standing and complex phenomenon, erodes institutions and citizens' trust in them, disturbs the social fabric, increases economic and social inequalities, creates distortions in the economy and has adverse effects on every aspect of public and private life. And ultimately it undermines democracy itself and the future of our children, the citizens of tomorrow.
The Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament and Member of Parliament for West Attica, Mr. Athanasios Bouras, who in his role as Vice President of the Greek Parliament and Chairman of the Committee on Institutions and Transparency, stressed the important work that the Authority has been doing throughout this period of successive crises, adding "The NTA has taken over all the responsibilities of the main public auditing bodies, constituting an innovative reform of the government to strengthen transparency and fight corruption, having all the necessary guarantees of independence and impartiality, in line with good international practices and the requirements of international law."
The Minister of Interior, Mr. Makis Voridis described the legal framework for lobbying, which will apply from September 2021, as a rule of transparency that defines the terms of influence between companies and decision-making centres. Mr. M. Voridis pointed out that the main aim of the law is that meetings between the two sides should be clear, that they should be known and that those who practice the profession of lobbying should have disclosed their status, adding that once the law is implemented, there will be the right weights to balance the institutional framework. "It is important to see the lobbying law being implemented and to see how much something new takes root within the Greek economic reality and in the relationship between companies and the centres of influence," he said.
In addition, he cited as an example many countries in the western world that have strong economies and have regulated and de-regulated lobbying, unlike our country which has lagged behind on this issue. "In Canada, USA, Germany, France this is regulated and deregulated. In Greece still, because we are under the depressing influence of the ideas of the left, this discussion is very difficult to have and therefore we need to bring this dialectical relationship that really exists between the economy and decision making to light, to be clear, to be transparent so that we can solve it," he said. Finally, the Minister thanked the National Transparency Authority for its cooperation and contribution to the creation of the institutional framework for lobbying.
The former Speaker of the Parliament and MP for Athens SYRIZA-PS Mr. Nikolaos Voutsis during his speech noted that "I want to positively put some headlines that they are still targets to be conquered so that the fight against corruption and the achievement of transparency can indeed serve more and more the public interest while defending human rights, especially those of vulnerable groups. The specific 'pedagogical' role of the bodies and services under scrutiny should be upgraded and strengthened. To have a deeper study and familiarisation of the persons and groups that they control with the individual sectors of the economy, social reality and the conditions of operation of the institutions and groups of persons.
In the NTA's main engagement with the state and corruption, to have conditions for absolutely unimpeded inspection, with the possibility of extending to the broader boundaries of relationships, formal and informal institutions and governance framework. To this end, it will be a positive step to put forward proposals for regulatory adjustments to respond to the challenges of the new era. Continuous training in good practice in similar organizations is necessary. It is important for the confidence, especially of citizens' movements addressed to the Authority, that there is a well-founded and timely response, even if it concerns requests that impinge on the Authority's competence, because only in this way a culture of trust in the Authority and the State in general is formed.
Mr. Edward Carrer, President and CEO of Vertical Solutions S.A., said "I believe that the exercise of any professional activity must be governed by rules, not only ethical but also legally established. Primarily, when the profession such as that of "lobbying" touches the joints of power, even greater care and regulation is required. The Law and the Transparency Register are the first important steps that will help to strengthen transparency and integrity."
A short address was given by Professor Demosthenes Anagnostopoulos - Secretary General of Public Administration Information Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance who stated that "With digital technology we promote transparency and accountability. It is our strategic choice, in line with international practices and it is important that we are getting tangible results. Today, the General Secretariat of Information Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance is implementing the Transparency Registry, in cooperation with the NTA. At the same time, we are ensuring the operation of the key systems for transparency, the Transparency Data Protection System, ESHIS, KIMDES and the Register of Beneficial Owners."
Their European experience was presented by Mr. Christos Sakellariou, Head of the EU Transparency Register, General Secretariat, European Commission, who described the framework and operation of the EU Transparency Register and the role of regulation for lobbying, while Ms. Eliezer Garcia-Rosado, Directrice du contrôle des représentants d'intérêts, Haute Autorite' pour la Transparence de la Vie Publique, from the French High Authority for Transparency, spoke about the obligations of elected and public officials with regard to lobbying, as well as the specific system of declaration of lobbying activities prevailing in France, whereby persons carrying out lobbying activities do not declare each meeting but the objectives pursued.
Dr. Anastasia Sotiropoulou - Legal Associate of the Interim Governor of the NTA - referred to the formulation of the institutional framework, the good practices taken into account by international organisations, as well as the corresponding legislative frameworks of other countries, noting that the contribution of the NTA staff in this process was catalytic, both in the legislative process and in the design and implementation of the Transparency Register.
Dr. George Orfanos, member of the Directorate of Design and Application Development of the General Secretariat for Public Administration Information Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance, presented the Transparency Register and the practical implementation of the platform, since the Register is an example of cooperation between the Ministry of Interior, the National Transparency Authority and the General Secretariat for Information Systems.
During the 2nd thematic session, Mr. Ioannis Foustanakis, Director of the Strategic Planning & Behavioural Analysis Department of the NTA along with the journalists Nikos Rogakos and Panagiotis Stathis, presented the results of a survey on public opinion and attitudes on corruption conducted by the company "G.P.O. - Research Communication S.A." for the NTA.
Indicative points of the results:
- 2 % of citizens consider that corruption exists to a very high degree
- More than half of the citizens who responded to the survey, namely 53.9%, consider the most important area of corruption to be the abuse of a position held within the public administration in order to secure unjustified benefits for themselves or for a third party.
- Media, Politics, Urban Planning, Public Sector, Local Government, Justice and Health are in the top positions of the sectors of public life that citizens consider to be ahead in corruption, while they state that they trust the armed forces the most as the sector of public life with the lowest corruption rates.
- More than half of citizens (52.7% ) believe that progress has been made in tackling corruption (taking into account the digital transformation that has been going on, the operation of gov.gr, intangible prescription, the operation of e-efka, etc.) on the contrary 31.9 believe that no progress has been made in tackling corruption.
- Citizens believe that clientelism, favouritism and the absence of a strict legal framework (impunity) are the main reasons that sustain corruption phenomena. This is followed by lack of political will , inefficiency of audit mechanisms , bureaucracy and 14.8 % accept that corruption is part of our culture and behaviour.
- 3% of citizens (yes , probably yes) consider that corruption is more widespread in our country today than in other EU Member States, while 23.7 (no , probably no) have an opposite opinion.
- 3% of citizens that corruption phenomena affect their everyday life to a very great extent (e.g. equality, equal opportunities, participation in the institutions of democracy, access to health care, education, justice, etc.)
- 63% believe that Greek society and citizens are tolerant of corruption, with 72.7% believing that this is due to the fact that individual interests are prioritised over social/collective interests
- 75% of citizens consider it very or fairly likely that they would report a case of corruption if it came to their attention.
During the Forum, the 2nd Panhellenic Competition for Student Creativity "Leaders of Integrity for Tomorrow" was announced with the theme: "No" to Violence, "Yes" to Friendship - Block Bullying. The competition is organized by the National Transparency Authority in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, the National Committee for Human Rights, the Library of the Parliament and the Educational Television of the Parliament. Having as a "compass" last year's successful student competition (217 students from all educational levels participated with 157 projects and a total of 37 schools of the country were represented) and identifying specific parameters that will stimulate the interest of students to participate in the competition process, it was chosen as the content framework for the 2nd Student Competition, the topical issue of bullying and whether its elimination is linked to the respect of human rights, trust, tolerance beyond origin, socio-economic level, as well as other factors that often exacerbate any kind of discrimination (social, economic, racial, religious, etc.).
In the theme entitled "Conflict of Interest, Local Government & the Integrity Advisor Institution, Ms. Maria Konstantinidou, Head of the General Directorate for Integrity and Accountability of the National Transparency Authority, referred to the usefulness of the Code of Conduct of Local Government Authorities, which can be an important tool in a conflict of interest situation and can contribute to the establishment of trust between the State, Local Government and citizens.
Mr. Zacharias Doxastakis, Deputy Head of Administration and Organization of the Region of Crete, referred to the contribution of the Integrity Advisor to the improvement of the Governance System of the Region and how this new institution works in practice since the Region of Crete is the first public sector body that has proceeded to the establishment and staffing of an Independent Office of Integrity Advisor
Mr. Gregorios Konstantellos, Mayor of Varis, Voula and Vouliagmeni district of Athens and Chairman of the Institutional Committee of the CENTRAL UNION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF GREECE (KEDE), referred to the standards encouraged by the Code of Conduct for Local Government Authorities following the cooperation of the Ministry of Interior, Association of Greek Regions (EN.P.E.) and the KEDE and how they respond to the modern developments that have taken place in the field of local and regional governance.
Mr. Ioannis Savas, Coordinator of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia - Thrace, referred to the ways in which the Code of Conduct for Elected Bodies of Local Authorities and the newly established institution of the Integrity Advisor can help the Decentralized Administrations to exercise state supervision over the local authorities and disciplinary control over their elected bodies in an effective and efficient manner.
You can watch the Forum by following the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3SWXluB6uE
Photographic material from the Forum can be found at the following link: