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The summary of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Report on Greece in the context of the second cycle of the assessment of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) has been published.
The second cycle evaluation mechanism for the implementation of the Convention started in 2016 and was completed in 2021, examining a total of 187 States for their compliance with Chapters II "Preventive Measures" and V "Asset Recovery" of the Convention. In order to prepare the report for Greece, a UNODC staff team with the participation of corruption experts from Belgium and Mexico visited Greece on 19-21 February 2019 in order to clarify issues related to the responses provided by the Greek authorities to a questionnaire that preceded the on-site visit.
The report examines, inter alia, the legal and institutional framework for the prevention of corruption that was in place prior to the landmark reform brought about by the adoption of Law No. 4622/2019 with the establishment of the National Transparency Authority (NTA). Taking into account the then existing framework, the Report recommends identifying and addressing the overlaps between bodies with anti-corruption responsibilities and in particular those with inspection and audit responsibilities in order to (a) enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of audit mechanisms, (b) systematically monitor the progress of the National Strategic Plan for Anti-Corruption and (c) promote the participation of society's stakeholders in the development and implementation of anti-corruption policies.
The report also recommends monitoring the receipt of complaints from different competent bodies with a view to better coordinating them, introducing a specific period of time during which public officials cannot be employed in the private sector after leaving the public sector, and facilitating reporting by establishing a system of protection for persons reporting violations.
At the time of finalizing the report in the autumn of 2021, the ΝΤΑ demonstrated and documented the important innovations of the new legislative and institutional framework, stressing that Greece already meets the above recommendations by establishing an independent authority for the prevention of corruption with administrative and financial autonomy, which came from the merger of the General Secretariat for the Fight against Corruption and a total of five Inspection and Audit Corps, thus addressing the overlapping responsibilities, coordination problems and the lack of transparency in the implementation of the new legislative and institutional framework.
The establishment of the NΤA fully responds to the pathologies identified by the Report by introducing innovative methodologies for: a) monitoring, evaluating and updating the National Strategic Plan for Anti-Corruption (NACAP); b) developing synergies with society to formulate initiatives, policies and awareness-raising activities; c) establishing a mechanism for managing and evaluating complaints; and d) introducing a series of obligations for a specific period of time after the end of the term of office of members of the Government, Deputy Ministers With the forthcoming transposition of Directive 2019/1937, Greece will introduce additional safeguards for persons reporting violations of EU and national law, in addition to those already existing in criminal law.
Taking into account the significant time that elapsed between the on-site visit of the team (February 2019) and the publication of the report (May 2022), the ΝΤΑ sent a detailed note to UNODC reflecting these important developments that have taken place at national level in the fields of prevention and fight against corruption and which are explicitly mentioned in the Report, acknowledging the significant progress made in recent years and the efforts of the Greek authorities to strengthen audit mechanisms and promote the fight against corruption.