EU Statement at the Implementation Review Group (IRG) of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), 12-16 June 2023
Mr Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union (EU) and its Member States. The following countries align themselves with this statement: North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Serbia*, Albania*, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Iceland+.
Mr Chair, in this statement, I would like to address a few issues under agenda items 2, 4 and 5. Let me start, however, by underlining that the on-going Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which we condemn in the strongest possible terms, severely hampers our efforts to provide technical assistance for the implementation of the Convention. Moreover, the review of Ukraine by Latvia and Paraguay is not moving ahead. As we have said before, this consequence may pale in comparison to the suffering of the people of Ukraine, but it shows that Russia’s unprecedented military attack has severe consequences everywhere
Item 2: UNCAC IRM
Concerning the Mechanism for the Review of Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (IRM), I am happy to report that the 1st cycle review of the EU is well advanced. We want to thank the peer reviewers from Niue and Czechia for their written comments. The Commission is now preparing the replies, and we look forward to preparing the on-site visit in Brussels, tentatively by the end of the this year, in order to conclude the first cycle of the review promptly and successfully.
We have also provided input to the Questionnaire from the Secretariat to solicit views from States parties on the performance of the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism and its next phase. In our response, we underlined that the country visit is the most useful part of the IRM. However, we need to strengthen the Mechanism to increase transparency and inclusiveness, especially with regard to engagement with civil society.
We look forward to engaging in discussions concerning the future of the implementation review mechanism, with the aim to pursue, improve and maintain an effective implementation of anti-corruption standards. The EU would value more exchanges between States Parties on this subject.
In this context, we would also like to highlight the annual Rule of Law report of the European Commission, which can also be considered as an anti-corruption review mechanism, and which contains recommendations for the EU Member States. The Rule of Law report examines developments related to the Member States’ strategic, institutional and legal anti-corruption frameworks, focusing on the effectiveness of national anti-corruption policies and assessing different key areas of action taken by EU Member States to prevent and fight corruption. The Commission stands ready to see how to increase synergies with the UNCAC IRM and we are in contact with the Secretariat to organise a side event on this topic at the Conference of States Parties in December.
Item 4: Implementation of the Convention; Prosecution of corruption
Last May, the Commission published a comprehensive anti-corruption package, including a commitment to establish an EU network against corruption (bringing together law enforcement, public authorities, practitioners, civil society and other stakeholders). The Network will feed into an EU anti-corruption strategy, to be developed in consultation with the European Parliament and the Council, to maximise the impact and coherence of EU actions.
This Communication was accompanied by far reaching proposals to substantially broaden EU law in this area: first, a directive to update and widely expand EU rules on the definitions of and penalties for corruption offences, based on international instruments, including a clear reference to measures included in the UNCAC. Under the proposed Directive, if adopted, Member States would have to
- ensure that law enforcement and prosecutors have far reaching investigative tools to fight corruption;
- ensure that privileges and immunity can be lifted during corruption investigations through an effective and transparent process pre-established by law, and in a timely manner;
- introduce minimum rules on the statute of limitation.
Second, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission are proposing to complement the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) toolbox of restrictive measures with a dedicated sanctions regime to fight corruption when and where acts of corruption seriously affect or risk affecting the fundamental interests of the Union.
We believe these instruments will improve the fight against corruption, inside the European Union, within our Member States, as well as internationally.
With regard to the prosecution of corruption, last year marked the first full calendar year of operations of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the world’s first transnational prosecution office. While the jurisdiction of the EPPO is limited to offences affecting the financial interests of the EU, it does include corruption. Around 4% of the offences investigated by the EPPO by the end of 2022 concerned active and passive corruption of public officials (EU and national officials). Public procurement procedures, in particular, have been found to be at risk of corrupt activity by public officials. The EPPO has also started cooperation with the Camden Asset Recovery Inter-agency Network (CARIN); the Financial Action Task Force (FATF); and it has observer status with the OECD Working Group on Bribery (WGB).
Item 5: Technical assistance
Let me now turn to the provision of technical assistance by the EU in the field of anti-corruption.
The European Commission (DG INTPA) is currently developing new operational guidance on anti-corruption, establishing inter alia objectives and best practices, geared to different country contexts, and establishing clear incentives for countries to address corruption. The new guidance, building on the results from our recent evaluation of development cooperation in partner countries, will assist EU operations to apply an anti-corruption lens, irrespective of modality or sector. The Council has recently also adopted conclusions on how to strengthen EU efforts to counter corruption as an obstacle to development.
Last summer, the EU adopted a new global thematic programme on human rights and democracy (NDICI-Global Europe). It has a volume of 645m EUR, and it includes several projects with an anti-corruption angle, for instance a Human Rights Defenders Mechanism that includes anti-corruption defenders; the fight against impunity, the Team Europe Democracy (TED) Initiative; and supporting media actors & harnessing new technologies.
The Team Europe Democracy (TED) Initiative will be focusing on accountability, anti-corruption, and the rule of law as one of its three core areas. The TED Network will facilitate exchanging information, engaging in strategic dialogue, collaborating on projects, and creating joint actions on thematic priorities.
Lastly, I want to mention another global thematic program called SANCUS (Strengthening Accountability Networks among Civil Society), which the EU is implementing with Transparency International. The program seeks to contribute to greater democratic accountability of public institutions globally, specifically by empowering civil society to demand systemic change to address accountability and anti-corruption deficits in 26 countries over 36 months.
Thank you, Mr Chair.
* Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
+ Iceland is a member of the EFTA and of the European Economic Area.