ANTI-CORRUPTION AND GOOD GOVERNANCE STANDARDS

Public Administration

•  Alignment with relevant acquis and principles on public administration (separation from politics; openness and transparency)
•  Equipment of ministry or department with adequate resources to coordinate public administration reform
•  Reform programme or strategy, complemented with corresponding action plan, covering central and local levels, ensuring coherence of objectives, budget, allocation of responsibilities
• Adequate administrative capacity, at central and local levels
• Adequate administrative capacity to programme and manage IPA funds
• Mechanisms to achieve adoption and implementation of the following legislation:

1.  Legislation defining structure of executive, tasks of ministries, decision-making process and relations between executive and public administration;
2. Legislation defining organisation and functioning of central and local administrations and the division of competences between them;
3. Legislation on budgeting, accounting, financial management and control, internal and external audit, public procurement;
4. Legislation on administrative procedures and legal redress, and relations with citizens.

• Regular international exchange of best practice in public administration reform
• Structure with adequate resources and authority for civil service management
• Objective, merit-based selection criteria and career system for civil servants, including bonuses
• Ethics rules and codes of conduct for civil servants; effective implementation
• Development and implementation of general strategy on training for civil servants
• Financial management, internal control and internal audit systems at central and local levels
• Effective implementation of legislation on declaration of assets
• Effective implementation of legislation on protection of whistleblowers.
• Effective implementation of legislation on access to information
• Promotion of active civil society participation
• E-government initiatives
• Implementation of acquis concerning Public Procurement (award of public contracts, and remedies).
• Public Procurement legislation and strategy, with adequate monitoring by an efficient independent public procurement oversight body, with sufficient follow-up to irregularities, sufficient financial control and parliamentary oversight; as well as sufficient enforcement mechanisms.
• Adequate investigation and criminal prosecution of procurement-related offences.

 Political Institutions

•  Free and fair elections; central electoral commission providing adequate oversight and redress
•  Electoral code in line with Venice Commission recommendations
•  Effective implementation of laws on political party financing and election campaign financing, providing for declarations of funding and assets; assessed by independent body with due competence.
• Absence of excessive immunities for MPs and other officials
• Commitment of government, parliament and public administration to fight corruption
• Provision of adequate resources to parliament to function effectively
• Legal framework in line with CoE, UN and OECD Conventions
• Investigation and Prosecution of high-level corruption cases free of political influence; cooperation between police and prosecution services; sufficient information sharing between bodies; sufficient equipment and staff
• Ethics rules and codes of conduct for politicians
• Effective implementation of a law on Conflict of Interest, ensuring officials make asset declarations; assessment of asset declarations by an independent body; follow up on suspicious declarations.

 Standards articulated in other Accession process documents:

• Implementation and enforcement of legal framework for tackling corruption, including through use of adequate statistics
• Comprehensive anti-corruption Strategy and Action Plan detailing resources and timeline for its implementation, as well as coordination between relevant authorities. Efficient monitoring of strategy’s implementation
• Demonstration of coordinated and proactive efforts to prevent, detect and prosecute corruption, especially at high-level, but also in relevant law enforcement agencies
• Establishment of an Anti-Corruption agency with sufficient budget and staff, clear responsibilities, and sufficient competence for monitoring activities etc.
• Establishment of supreme audit institution with adequate resources to conduct public external audits, reporting to Parliament, and with its independence established in law
• Implementation of GRECO recommendations and other international standards
• Effective implementation of a law on Conflict of Interest, ensuring officials make asset declarations; assessment of asset declarations by an independent body; follow up on suspicious declarations
• Establishment of Public Prosecutor’s Office, with adequate capacities
• Investigators, Inspection boards, use of special investigative measures
• Legal obligation for public officials and civil servants to submit asset declarations, and effective implementation
• Effective implementation of legislation providing for whistleblower protection
• Conducting of public awareness campaigns on corruption
• Regular consultation of civil society
• Enforcement of anti-money laundering legislation in terms of prevention, convictions, confiscations, seizures and freezing assets.