The European Commission's 2022 Report on the State of the Rule of Law in the European Union 2022 was published yesterday, 13 July 2022. The Report makes specific reference to the approval of the National Strategic Plan for the Fight against Corruption (NACAP) for the period 2022 - 2025, for the first time in our country, at the highest political level by the Council of Ministers through the adoption of an Act of the Council of Ministers (Government Gazette A 138).
The NACAP 2022-2025 is an integrated package of actions for a systematic and coordinated effort to address the causes, symptoms and effects of corruption in society, the economy and institutions. It ensures the continuity of the reforms undertaken by the country at European and international level, incorporating priorities highlighted by the European Commission's annual reports both in the context of the European Semester and the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism and in the framework of the State of the Rule of Law in the EU, while it includes actions that implement relevant recommendations of European and international organisations with responsibilities in the field of anti-corruption, such as GRECO of the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Parliament.
The text of the Report highlights the critical responsibilities of the National Transparency Authority (NTA) in relation to the supervision and coordination of the implementation of the NACAP 2022-2025, the conduct of investigations into corruption cases, the audits of asset declarations and influence activities. It should also be noted that in 2021 the NTA implemented a programme of targeted actions to support both public and private sector entities by providing them with guidance on strengthening their corruption risk management and internal audit functions. In this context, the NTA organised over 12 relevant webinars-workshops and implemented programmes tailored to the needs and characteristics of each institution. The audit of asset declarations by the NTA based on a risk analysis using specific criteria and an innovative methodology has been highlighted as a good practice.
The Report also recognises that the institutional framework (legislation and regulatory decisions) for the regulation of lobbying activities has been completed and the launch of the corresponding electronic register is expected.
In particular, the Report positively assesses the measures taken and implemented to strengthen the integrity of public officials, with particular reference to the Codes of Conduct and Professional Behaviour issued by the NTA and the operation of the Ethics Committee of Law 4622/2019, which examines issues of conflict of interest.
Finally, with regard to the recommendations contained in the Report, these relate to issues that are already known from previous reports of the European Commission, most of which have already been included in the National Anti-Corruption Strategic Plan 2022-2025, in order to start their implementation.